Empowermental: I Don’t Know

Where there is smoke
There is not always fire,
Where there is holiness
Enlightenment is not always present,

Neither is unholiness
An indication of ignorance,
Though either
May co-occur.

Similarly, popularity
Is not a sign
Of Buddhahood,
Nor is unpopularity.

It’s so difficult
To discern
That I think
To look here is best.

Buddhas may come
And Buddhas may go,
As so do we all
But nobody knows.

Perhaps even
The wide infinite sky
Does not know,
Even though it is forever.

Sometimes I despair
And other times joy overflows
But where these states come from
And where they go
I do not know.

Empowerment: Foolish Errand

Pursuing the path
Makes no difference,
Not pursuing the path
Makes no difference,

And yet,
Those who will pursue
Will pursue
And those who won’t, won’t;

Either way,
It makes no difference.
Some will find
And then lose insight,

Others may
See it always,
And still others
May never see it,

It’s all the same
Because
Wisdom either arises
Or it doesn’t,

Either comes and goes
Or continues to arise
But which is which?
No one can predict,

Which is why
A Buddha’s story
Can only be told
After death
But even then, nobody knows!

Empowered: Application of Wisdom

Bursting with despair
And sadness
To the point of madness,
Rolling around in a funk!

Then I spied a bookmark
Leading to the words
Of Ajahn Chah,
A famous forest monk;

And there I did find
Sound wisdom
I had forgotten
And decided to take up again;

From my latest
Round of passion
I attempted to stand back
And watched the results;

I was skeptical at first,
Thinking this
Would be deadening at best,
Or nerve wracking at worst

But in accordance
With what he said
I found neither
But only release instead,

A steadying mind
Unshaken by
The turmoil
In the heart;

And now I could resume,
Carry on with my tasks,
Observing all the while
And seeing how long
I could make this detachment last.