JANUARY NIGHT

January night

Clear and cloudless

A waxing moon

Scattered stars

Deep within

A silent reflection! 

FRAGRANT DRIZZLE

In the vastness of the blue sky

The clouds gather

The wind are soft

A gentle drizzle fills the evening

From the fragrance of the moist soil

Can  dusty thought can rise ! 

EMPEROR'S TEA

The tea pot is brewing

The flowers smile

The emperor sips!

Bliss is every sip!

Clear, calm and happy

Is his heart of enlightenment! 

As the fly shares his royal tea! 

DEW DROPS AND PEACE

Dew drops on a lotus leaf

No sorrow, no grief!

Accepting evanescence!

Allowing transcendence 

No craving; no Clinging!

Neither to water; nor to leaf

Free to be; free to flow 

Wherever or whenever!

All is bliss! All is peace! 

SLOW AND SILENT

Slow and silent

The sun rises

The flower blossoms

The fruit ripens

Mindful in contemplation

Slow and silent

I too shall let go ! 

RINGING SILENCE

The plangent bell rings

My breath slows

Life blossoms

Happiness flows

Yet deep within!

Silence remains! 

ONE STEP AT A TIME

Climbing lofty peaks

One step at a time

Distance is an illusion

Path, a mere figment

Destiny a simplification

Life, a foolish rationalization!  

The truth is here

Happiness is now

This moment is all there is

Oh!  Striving soul! Weary of climbing!

No more mountains; no more cliffs  

 Only just one step at a time!

WINGS OF HOPE

Every step is the last one

Every step is new

Walking each step! Being mindful!  

Let my wings of hope burn away!  

SIP OF TEA

From cup to lip, to complete awareness 

Hot and steaming!

Keeping awake, keeping away

Torpor, hate and ill will

Essence of the hills distilled

Into Adenosined vigil

Golden, green and even milky

Oh!  How blissful, is each mindful sip!

SPROUTING WISDOM

The soil of the mind is tilled fertile

The knowledge is hidden

The fruit is buried

The seed is ripe

But without the moisture within

Can wisdom sprout?

SUMMER STORM

The storm of summer has arrived

And the rain drops keep falling

Through queries of the morning

The rumbling of the evening

And the cravings of the night

Drenched yet mindful

The raindrops keep tumbling down 

ZAZEN

 

In the midst of a clamorous crowd of feelings

Something remains silent

In the midst of the dazzling dance of perception

Something silently watches

In the midst of all this watching

Something dies! Something is silently let go!

No desire, no seeking, no satisfaction!

No existence! No nonexistence!

Only zazen! 

GARDEN OF LIFE

No sprouting seed worries about the timing of the coming rain!

No growing plant worries about the duration of sunshine!

No fragrant flower worries about the buzzing of the bumble bees!

No succulent fruit worries about the fate of its precious seed!

Yet with the passing of every new season!

The luxuriant garden of life; still silently blossoms!  

HERE AND NOW

Happiness is here and now

And here and now is bliss!

The winds of thoughts may sway you to the future

And clouds of uncertainty may rain

But all of that is an illusion!

All of that is untrue!

For Happiness is here and now

And this Happiness is bliss!

Rusty anchors of the past may drag you with regret and sorrow

And chains of attachment may pull you down

But all of that is an illusion

All of that that is untrue

For, happiness is here and now

And here and now is bliss!

FIELD OF FEELINGS

In the fertile fields of the roving mind

Cultivating the delicate crop of feelings

The sun of opportunity may shine on you

And the rain of fortune may bless you

But if you don’t know your saplings well

When the time of harvest comes

 Is it not too late to discover

That the only crop you’ll get to reap

Are weeds of anger and hatred and ill will!  

KOAN NOT TO

 

In this cloudy world of distractions

To see is not to see

To do is not to do

To understand is not to

And to know is but mere delusion

Yet, when the morning sun shines in silence

To let go, is true enlightenment!

PASSING CLOUDS

Sitting by the window, on a cold winter night  

As the open curtains greet the serene moonlight

Passing clouds of thought come and go

Some are good and friendly

Some are riotous till they go

Some tent in my garden

And some just refuse to go

Some make me smile when they come in

But rip my home when they go

Some keep evading as I chase them

And some just make a mess and go  

Some brighten the home with their presence

But they too drizzle and go

For all these thoughts, just come visiting

And, sooner or later, they all must go

For when the new sun rises in the morning, the morning mist must go!

SEARCHING FOR THE LAMP

The crickets’ creek in the moonless night

As the air is filled with arrant darkness

A lamp, lost to the emptiness

I search here in silent desperation!

Morning will be too late, I know

But what else can a lost soul do; but search in darkness

Through grasses and burrows; trees and mounds

Lamp- less and helpless

I feel and tap at every accessible terrain

Yet no glorious lamp I can find!

The terrain is too vast and my senses are too numb

I lament to myself!

What soul can I find in this darkness?

What light-less lamp can I find?

But when morning comes, and finds me searching

My time will be gone, and my show will be over!

As the sunlight of life finally engulfs my darkened soul!

Will I ever realize!  The lamp that I was searching for, was the one I had put out in my heart!

TURTLE TRAINER

Oh mighty turtle trainer!  How patient thou art!

TURTLE TRAINER- by Osman Hamdi -1906-Turkey

Five Little monsters with minds of their own

How hard you try to train them!

Their ultimate master you may be

But with minds and shells frozen in time

How can you ever control them?

The   turtle of vision, chewing on hedonic cabbage and the lettuce of lust

Can you make him sip the still waters of your mind?

The turtle of hearing, wandering in the waters of rumour and gossip

Can you make him listen to the music of love?

The turtle of smell, judging and dividing the world into shades of good and bad

Can you make him smell the tolerant fragrance of compassion?

The turtle of taste, always seeking solace in greed and gluttony

Can you make him eat the dried up leaves of altruism

The turtle of touch, always seeking comfort and pleasure

Can you make him obey the cane of self discipline?

Oh Mighty turtle trainer of the monstrous mind! How great thou art!

Five little sense monsters you seek to tame!

How great is thy patience! How great is thy perseverance! 

MILLION SPRINGS TO BREAK FREE

A million springs under the sun have passed

Yet my feet are frozen in the morgue of  the past

A thousand moons have arced across the nightly sky

Yet my lonesome sky is never clear

A hundred monsoons have showered and gone

Yet my minds garden is still barren

Oh! How much more must my lost soul wait!

Until its time to break free!