Noble: Frugal Pursuit

Lamp fell, lampshade tore
Mended well with packing tape
It is unique now!

Nibbana: Everyone

I see suffering;
I see misery
But I also see
that it has an end!

And that
this
end
is...
glorious!

The Buddha reported
His methods supported
Seeing beyond
the imagination.

And this
is so.
But
How?

Because,
as for what
is beyond
the imagination...

It is
what is
of course!
And that I can see.

And that
everyone
can
see,

If they look carefully
with
a clear mind
and a still body.

However: Forging Ahead

My concentration practice led to the hypothesis that
Tis not wanting, nor not, nor neither that causes suffering
But imbalance:  one-pointed obsession on any of these three,
And that what is needed is a wider view
That encompasses this trio and all else too;

And this has opened out into
Returning once again to practicing mindfulness
As a potential solution or at least a useful tool
For pursuing the aforementioned goal;

But what a tricky task to undertake!
To try to exercise sound judgment on what to attend to
And how to respond or act
In the most skillful and beneficial way;

And how full-circle again I thought it today
While on my way to grocery shop
That I found that concentration too
Was so equally important for sustaining attention to this goal;

It is so easy to forget,
Become distracted and fall back into old habits;
Continuous effort is not easy to achieve
And then even that may become just another obsession or extreme;

Even following the middle way
May become just as fanatical
As chasing after any other goal
If it becomes too mechanical;

Regularly swinging back and forth appears unavoidable
And the frequent stops and starts may be unenjoyable,
Like the rush hour traffic during construction today:
Almost as painful to watch as it is to participate in;

But still I strive on as best I can,
Simultaneously developing compassion for all of us who are stuck
On this crowded, noisy congested avenue, exerting ourselves towards
Arriving at whatever destination we look forward to.

Gamut: From Cloudburst to Trickle

Peeling carrots,
Baking bread,
Doing laundry,
Mending cloth;
These activities and more!

A burst of energy
Driving me on,
Until after two
In the morning

Cloudburst of action
Ensued without warning,
Where it came from
I do not know

But naturally
As it does,
The dynamic uno
Ceases to flow

And so today,
I'm dragging myself around:
Watching the rain dripping down
Instead of pouring it

Yet somehow still,
I made the stew
Vacuumed some of the carpet
And prepared to do more laundry

Albeit at a slower pace
But what's the rush?
Okay, yes, there is much to do,
But this is always so

Tis a marathon
Not a sprint,
A round-the-world tour
Not a one block jaunt

Gallery: Way Too Much

And furthermore,
Yesterday
Helped someone else
Get some paperwork put away

Now today,
Maybe time to catch up
On my paperwork backup
Of which there is quite a stack up

There never is a lack of
Mounds of paper to pack up,
To sort through
And rack up

It's an endless task
That never goes by too fast,
Full of many days past
Yet guaranteed not to last

I do my best,
To clean up this mess
Which never seems to lessen
No matter how much time I spend on it

The piles ever growing,
Clipped back like hedges
That then keep sprouting
Until cut down once again

How like samsara,
Which keeps rolling
Around in circles
And repeating

All actions
Requiring reactions,
All reactions
Necessitating more actions;
Time and change unceasing

Gale: Blown Away

Well, I made it through
Various tasks,
In spite of many missteps,
Only to be sidetracked by
Other people's mistakes

No happy medium
Between drowsiness
And nervous wreck,
Mind running amok

Thoughts, sensations,
Wildly plunging
Mishmash
Downpour, splash

Imperfection reigns,
Even when rains
Turn into reins
There are no gains

Falling back?
Or return to normal?
No time to examine now,
Not even tomorrow!

Meanwhile, a scramble
With a howl and a grumble
I bumble and stumble
Trying to keep up

Much of what I planned to do
Is unlikely
Rather than accomplishing a lot
I carry on just slightly 

Quickly!  Quickly!
Run!  Run!
I really have to hurry now
To get anything done

Gainsay: Sideswiped by Insight

"Misery is back," I wrote
While I was lying in bed
But I had no pen or paper then
And so I lost that thread

Twas likely the best bit of poetry
I'd written for a long while
Thus on top of all
I had this to regret

But I had no time to waste
On this busy day
With too much to do
And behind schedule already

I had to be steady
Even though I felt wobbly,
Had to keep going
Although it was slow

Completing my tasks
With little enthusiasm,
Pushing through a wall of fatigue,
Feeling too hot in this unseasonable heat

But finally I pause
To consider the nature of the world,
Examining the conditioned phenomena
For signs of what I saw before

Is it there anymore?
Or was that just a dream,
Another state of mind?
Of course it was!

That's all I see:
Imperfect shadows,
Flashes of light;
Sideswiped by insight

Fall To: Keep Moving

The Fibro-attack returns
And, oh, how my chest burns!
My shoulders ache,
Restlessness, despair and fear overtake

The changing winds
Catch me in their wake
And I am knocked over
By the pounding of the waves

I tried meditation, yoga, walking and resting,
Devotional practice and chanting
But finally, at wits end, switched to
Tylenol 3, obtaining some relief

Still, when I tried to read
The tears surfaced,
From somewhere, unbidden,
As if the story touched a nerve

Not entirely sure
What that's all about
But then found help
In direct pointing to neither here nor not

In this place I found temporary respite
But had to get up and do some work,
which broke the spell somewhat
Nevertheless leading to some new insights

Impermanence makes
All good things precious;
In the flow
We watch and slip away,

Enjoying
The fleeting contact
All the more
And waving goodbye

Fall Through: Ups and Downs

I've never been one
To believe in reincarnation
Yet, it does seem to me as if
My life is but one syllable
In a vast machination

Just as I think I've performed
My last discursive dance
I find I've only elided
Into the next utterance

At some time - I cannot say when
There was Nibbana
And then a return,
A very painful one!

Having stuck on one word
I hung out to dry on the other,
which was where my teacher came in
('Lucky' her!)

Then having found my way back again
And learning the trick
Of passing back and forth,
although somehow not getting it at all,

I now but see another layer
That of a a place
Neither Nibbana nor Samsara;
Neither not Nibbana nor not Samsara

And as for what if anything (or nothing)
Could come next,
I will not ask yet
And would perhaps prefer not to apprehend

But wherever I wind up,
Whether moving on, to consonants or vowels,
If water there be we,
May I be blessed with plenty of towels!

Endless: Wheeling

And then
The bottom fell out
Of everything
And I forgot it all!

It’s almost as if
There were two of me:
A “Dharma Lee”
And a “Samsara Lee”

And I’m alternating
Between the two
And getting lost
And getting found,

Seeing reality
From alternate points of view,
Eyes open
But vision filtered by cosmic dust.

Is this how
It’s supposed to go?
Or is there such a such?
Oh well, it IS how it’s going

And so, I just keep going
And see what comes up next,
Turning the page
And reading on;

Don’t know
How far I’ve got to go,
Not even sure if
I’m going anywhere at all!

Some days up,
Some days down,
Some days can’t tell,
Some days just looking up
From the bottom of a very deep well.

Defensible: A Safe Pause

Hot herb tea
On a cold day,
A simple way
To bring ease
To a worn out body and mind;

Hot water
Melts away the chill
And fragrant spices and herbs
Envelop the senses,
Soothing and invigorating;

A gentle flavour
And time to savour it,
Relaxing with some audioplays
While sipping slowly away
At the end of a busy day;

Tis the best of times,
Stirring memories of past teas,
Connecting one mug
To the previous one
And this one to the next;

Mining deeply
The dark hot brew,
Dropping slowly down
Into a peaceful quiet,
A break from life’s incessant riot;

Listening to the sounds around,
Glorying in the leisure
Whose transience only
Makes it more precious,
And the tea extra delicious;

Finding moments within moments
Of delightful repose,
Laughing admiringly at the snow
As I watch it fall and blow outside my window.

Defect: Technological Changeover

Bursting with energy
From a chocolate charged
Holiday feast,
A seasonal surge;

Shopping for replacements
Rather than presents,
As budgeting concerns
Override flashy ads for frivolous trinkets,

Complex electronics
Reveal hidden price tags,
As incompatibility
With older devices increases costs,

Hence, one purchase
Requires another,
In order to make
The first one work,

Difficult decision:
Return new product or buy one more,
Decided to splurge,
As haven’t done so for two years,

And about time I concluded,
To replace the old
And bring in the new,
A lesson in impermanence,

As everything goes
In the end,
One appliance
Gets changed for another,

In the name of advancement, or so it’s said,
But a cynic might reflect
It’s merely free market economics,
I was quite happy with what I had,
But now have to settle for improvements instead!

Curved: Around the Circle

Woke up
Got up,
Jumped right into
Activity,

Lots of flow
From one action
To another
With plenty of racket,

Then suddenly
All came to a halt,
Energy flagged
And the mood sagged,

Sadness arose,
Until caught sight of
A leafy tree,
Which cheered me.

Completely miraculous!
How changeable life is,
Is there any greater
Magic than this?

That from energy
Sprang activity,
Which begat flow,
Followed by fatigue,

Then out of this tiredness
Came stillness,
And afterwards there arose
Great sadness;

But looking out from melancholy
Lead to seeing,
Taking in the soft greenness,
Which triggered joy and sereneness,
This too so fleeting and so amazing!