Mara’s arrows are turned to flowers

The Buddha sits serene and unmoved
by the troubles of the world.
Mara’s arrows are turned to flowers
and lay scattered at his feet.
He is untouched by them.
Why does the Buddha smile?
Does he not see the poverty and depravation,
the hatred, envy and greed that tear the world apart?
He sees all, and knows all
and feels all
and yet smiles.
The pain and suffering of the world
are Mara’s arrows scattered at his feet
and his smile has turned them to flowers.
He sees the pain of the world
rise as a wave,
he hears the cry of anguish.
He watches the wave
rise and fall,
melting back into its own essence,
indistinguishable from the water it manifested from.
He sees it all,
the water, the wave, the water,
as a complete oneness,
not as a birth and a death or
a coming and a going.
He sees the impermanence
and knows the wave will pass,
will return to water.
He smiles
because Mara’s arrows are scattered at his feet
turned to flowers
and he is unmoved by them.

© 15 Jan 2014