How can I speak of you and I
in a place of non-duality?
Listen to the heart singing,
it has no sense of division.
Listen to the voice of the unborn,
a koan calling out reality from
the imaginary world of forms.
Listen to what the tree says,
how the flowers speak,
what the clouds whisper to each other.
Listen to the voice of the unborn and
undying, pulsing with each heartbeat,
a koan calling out reality from
the imaginary world of forms.
A single teardrop courses down my cheek
and I will not wipe it away
though my hand itches to do so.
This is the voice of the unborn,
this is how the heart speaks.
In this realm the dance of you and I
melts into one, with no separation between.
© 27 Feb 2014
Thursday, 27 February 2014
Sunday, 9 February 2014
If I miss meditation today will it matter?
If I miss meditation today will it matter?
The
earth will not fall off its axis,
the stars will not stop sparkling nor
the sun stop shining.
Yet I will feel depleted and undernourished
as if the meal I was offered
was barely satisfactory.
the stars will not stop sparkling nor
the sun stop shining.
Yet I will feel depleted and undernourished
as if the meal I was offered
was barely satisfactory.
The
rain will still rain,
the wind will still blow,
the sun and the moon will still rise,
the course of the seasons will not
alter for one millisecond,
yet I will feel the irregularity of my heartbeat
as the heart’s longing for itself
has not been satisfied.
We will still breathe and move
about our usual daily business
and converse and emote and interact
yet these interplays may lack some depth
because I have not plummeted
the depth of my inner being.
the wind will still blow,
the sun and the moon will still rise,
the course of the seasons will not
alter for one millisecond,
yet I will feel the irregularity of my heartbeat
as the heart’s longing for itself
has not been satisfied.
We will still breathe and move
about our usual daily business
and converse and emote and interact
yet these interplays may lack some depth
because I have not plummeted
the depth of my inner being.
If I miss meditation today will it matter?
Spring
will still spring
and we will still feel
the enlivening of the senses with the
lengthening of days and
the bursting of new life,
yet my joy will be muted,
as if spring is viewed through a dull curtain
rather than felt and known
in my own racing heartbeat.
The world will not fall into chaos
or destruction or ruination
and war will not befall every nation
yet the energy of peace that can be transmitted
through my interactions
will be lacking,
and the ripples of peace and heartfulness
that undulate out from a meditating heart
will not emerge,
as if a stone has not been dropped into water
but has been withheld.
and we will still feel
the enlivening of the senses with the
lengthening of days and
the bursting of new life,
yet my joy will be muted,
as if spring is viewed through a dull curtain
rather than felt and known
in my own racing heartbeat.
The world will not fall into chaos
or destruction or ruination
and war will not befall every nation
yet the energy of peace that can be transmitted
through my interactions
will be lacking,
and the ripples of peace and heartfulness
that undulate out from a meditating heart
will not emerge,
as if a stone has not been dropped into water
but has been withheld.
And
I will feel it.
I may miss the first snowdrop saying ‘hello’
and not see the rainbow, but only the darkening rainclouds.
I may mistake you for a stranger
and forget you are my better self,
my teacher, my beloved
in whose happiness my happiness lies.
I may miss the first snowdrop saying ‘hello’
and not see the rainbow, but only the darkening rainclouds.
I may mistake you for a stranger
and forget you are my better self,
my teacher, my beloved
in whose happiness my happiness lies.
And
I will know,
and I will feel it
because I have not touched reality,
I have not known pure existence without any conditions
and I have not let thinking drop away
to reveal being.
This kindness to myself
may go unnoticed by the world,
but I will know
and I will feel it.
© 9 Feb 2014
and I will feel it
because I have not touched reality,
I have not known pure existence without any conditions
and I have not let thinking drop away
to reveal being.
This kindness to myself
may go unnoticed by the world,
but I will know
and I will feel it.
Saturday, 8 February 2014
Follow the sound of the bell
Follow the sound of the bell
knowing that as the physical sound dies
it continues to resonate in the heart,
a cavern of silence in which
the bell is still sounding
as a song, calling us home.
Follow the sound of the bell
along which the heart rides
until its ripples and
the heart’s beat
are one.
Follow the sound of the bell
as a call to
non-action,
to the peace we step into and
immediately recognise as the
deepest longing of our heart.
Follow the sound of the bell
to that space where it sounds as
blood pumping through my veins
or my own heartbeat.
Follow the sound of the bell
until it sounds no more
and is ever sounding
as the song reminding us
we are home.
© 2 Feb 2014
knowing that as the physical sound dies
it continues to resonate in the heart,
a cavern of silence in which
the bell is still sounding
as a song, calling us home.
Follow the sound of the bell
along which the heart rides
until its ripples and
the heart’s beat
are one.
Follow the sound of the bell
as a call to
non-action,
to the peace we step into and
immediately recognise as the
deepest longing of our heart.
Follow the sound of the bell
to that space where it sounds as
blood pumping through my veins
or my own heartbeat.
Follow the sound of the bell
until it sounds no more
and is ever sounding
as the song reminding us
we are home.
© 2 Feb 2014
Monday, 3 February 2014
Stillness Buddy: friend or foe?
Stillness Buddy: friend or foe?
Popping up in the midst of writing an email,
interrupting my train of thought.
Not now, later!
But this is my job,
to burst through the mindless flow
and the list of 'important things',
the washing-machine mind that never
reaches the end of its cycle.
This is my job,
to remind you of reality beyond
email-land and impinging,
beguilingly seductive internet pages.
This is my job,
to wake up the dormant senses,
to see the leaves tapping on your window,
hear the crackling fire in its grate,
smell the near-approaching spring,
touch the breath as it rises and falls,
taste the cup of tea by your side.
Smile to life in all its manifestations,
smile to reality hear and now,
smile to Stillness Buddy
popping up at inconvenient moments.
Smile to Stillness Buddy
friend, definitely friend.
© 3 Feb 2014
https://stillnessbuddy.com/
Popping up in the midst of writing an email,
interrupting my train of thought.
Not now, later!
But this is my job,
to burst through the mindless flow
and the list of 'important things',
the washing-machine mind that never
reaches the end of its cycle.
This is my job,
to remind you of reality beyond
email-land and impinging,
beguilingly seductive internet pages.
This is my job,
to wake up the dormant senses,
to see the leaves tapping on your window,
hear the crackling fire in its grate,
smell the near-approaching spring,
touch the breath as it rises and falls,
taste the cup of tea by your side.
Smile to life in all its manifestations,
smile to reality hear and now,
smile to Stillness Buddy
popping up at inconvenient moments.
Smile to Stillness Buddy
friend, definitely friend.
© 3 Feb 2014
https://stillnessbuddy.com/
Monday, 27 January 2014
Smiling in the dark
Smiling in the dark
no one to see
no one to receive
just practising
‘mouth yoga’
nourishing myself.
Polishing the heart
feeding seeds
of joy and simple delight.
Smiling in the dark
a childlike pleasure
a delicious secret
to share.
Encouraging laughter cells
and giggle genes
growing and bursting
like soap bubbles
popping into manifestation.
The world needs
more smiles
here,
have one of mine
☺
© 27 Jan 2014
Saturday, 25 January 2014
The sound of the mindfulness bell
The sound of the mindfulness bell
is a beckoning hand
showing the path
straight ahead.
is a beckoning hand
showing the path
straight ahead.
Don’t get lost by the wayside,
don’t let the trees or flowers
distract from your purpose.
don’t let the trees or flowers
distract from your purpose.
The sound of the mindfulness bell
is a heartstring tugged
in recognition of itself.
Sounding within
as a voice of clarity and reason,
“stay here in the present,
don’t let your footsteps
take you backwards,
don’t meander into dreaming or planning,
stay here, you are safe”.
is a heartstring tugged
in recognition of itself.
Sounding within
as a voice of clarity and reason,
“stay here in the present,
don’t let your footsteps
take you backwards,
don’t meander into dreaming or planning,
stay here, you are safe”.
The sound of the mindfulness bell
is a song
that rides the breezes at dawn
waking the soul from slumber,
greeting the day
with a smile of salutation.
The sound of the mindfulness bell
is a new moon
shining in a clear night
dispelling darkness and shadow,
guiding the wanderer home.
is a song
that rides the breezes at dawn
waking the soul from slumber,
greeting the day
with a smile of salutation.
The sound of the mindfulness bell
is a new moon
shining in a clear night
dispelling darkness and shadow,
guiding the wanderer home.
© 25 Jan 2014
Friday, 17 January 2014
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.
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.
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