Bodhidharma

Outwardly, all activities cease;
Inwardly, the mind stops its panting.
When one”s mind has become a wall,
Then he may begin to enter the Tao.

Read Full Post »

Tao-te Ching

Attain the center of emptiness,
Preserve the utmost quiet;
As myriad things act in concert
I thereby observe the return.
Things flourish,
Then each returns to its root.
Returning to the root
Is called stillness:
Stillness is called return to Life,
Return to Life is called the constant;
Knowing the constant is called enlightenment.

Read Full Post »

Kojisei

At the sound of the bell in the silent night,
I wake from my dream in this dreamworld of ours.
Gazing at the reflection of the moon in a clear pool,
I see, beyond my form,
 my real form.

Read Full Post »

Sitting by

 
Sitting by the pathless path
Pines showered
A mynah sings
You are.

Read Full Post »

Lend a Hand

 
O friend
Of her mind, body and soul
I see you seeing her dusting her knots
She re-knots them, knot after knot, tight and firm
O friend of twenty five years
Let her gather some dust of her own
It will loosen the knots of time
In time
Dust is good, dust is all there is
Paba in her mind and body
Lend a hand
So [...]

Read Full Post »

My Dust

The smell less smell
The sparkling clean surfaces
Books at right angles
Your black sandals sit quietly below the chair by the door, waiting.
  
The walls adorned, yet bare
A Buddha of wellbeing and African welcome mask
A dancing Ganesha, alive with a long rising shadow in winter
Unread EPWs, a bright Mexican cat at the sill. Meow.
 
A father looks on
At a disordered [...]

Read Full Post »

Bankei

“Searching for words, hunting for phrases,
When will it end?
Esteeming knowledge and gathering information,
Only maddens the spirit.
Just entrust yourself to your own nature,
Empty and illuminating Beyond this,
I have nothing to teach.”

Read Full Post »