Nimble: Sutta Reading*

Seeing between the lines
laughing at my own folly
securely in touch

*Here I had been thinking about a Sutta I read some time ago, where the Buddha supposedly declared, "I am Brahman," which had confused me at the time, given his supposed teachings about the "self," but then later it occurred to me that although this could be true it was also kind of a joke because based on what I know now it does not matter.  One of the clues was from several other talks I heard that referenced the Suttas as being full of puns that you had to understand the original Pali language to get and some of the texts turning out to be making fun of texts from other traditions.

Nibbana: Haiku III

Not all the time and
not even every day but
cessation's 'in play!'

Nibbana: Haiku II

Bringing attention
to all that I do,
to see cessation shine through

Nibbana: Haiku

Saving energy
to see the cessation of
sufferings's arise

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.

Gallant: Cultivating Seclusion

Cultivating seclusion
From
Greed and distress
Towards the world

This is the recurring theme,
The current scheme
Around which
I organized today's activities

How does one
Seclude the mind
From craving such delights
As a bowl of gourmet stew?

When filthy pesky pigeons
Rudely intrude, getting in the way,
How does one seclude the mind
From greed and distress?

(And these occurrences
Are mere perturbances,
Minor day-to-day irritations,
Not even major catastrophic cataclysms!)

It's impossible of course
But having accepted that as well,
One is free to carry on,
Benefiting now and in the long term

These actions requiring much effort,
Nevertheless provide much temporary relief
From the daily grief
Of plodding through this flawed world

And this work may herald
Further gains:
Freedom from imperfection;
The end of samsaric bane

Furthest Yet: Over the Top!

There was noise
Quite a lot of noise,
Not unusual
At this time of year

While I waited
For 11 p.m. to occur
I tried a guided meditation
By myself, for myself

I focused on the aversion
On this occasion,
Asked if I could use it
To propel myself away from the world

I considered the world,
The imperfection of the world
Broke it down
To all its elements

Analyzed it down
To all the senses,
Contact at the senses,
The sense organs and the sensory processes;

All thinking
And all types of awareness;
The form of the body
And the form of the world:

The endless fruitless cycle
That repeats
And leads to nothing
But more of the same

Instructed myself
Not to take up any of it,
Not in any way;
And so passed the time
And then carried on with determination

Furthermore: Nonperfection and Beyond

When perfection
Is pursued
Your mind
You undelude

For you
Come to see
It's attainment
Is an impossibility

Therefore
You are not
Fooled
By mutton dressed up as lamb

You do not
Conclude
That too good to be true
Can be had

You don't
Fall for ads
That promise
Perfect abs

You do not envy
Those
Who win lotteries
Or own big homes

You know that
That way
Does not perfect
The wayward world

You cannot fix
This wonky wheel
The way to deal with Samsara
Is to abandon it!

Fully: Imperfection

My Mother
Is dying
Of Alzheimer's disease
My Mother who
I never could please

She remembers me
As one she has loved
But the odd thing is
I don't remember that

What I recollect
Is not to be relayed
No one would want to read of it
Nor see it displayed

But this is consistent
With this day's teaching
Which shall not be
Delayed

That this world is imperfect
Cannot be denied
From that unpleasant truth
We cannot hide

But the good news is this:
It's exactly the point
The goal is not perfection
But the other shore

And where does that lead us?
To nonperfection of course
Imperfection's close cousin
Nibbana's signpost

We aim for perfection
But find it not
Then follow imperfection
To the end of grief

Evocative: Brunch

I’ve heard it said
That
Liberation is
In this moment

But I would say
That
Liberation is
This moment

What do I mean?
I don’t know
And so,
Maybe,

Liberation
Is
Where you find it,
Wherever that is

And now,
It’s time
To prepare
My brunch,

I have no
Lunch
Due to
My peculiar working hours,

Which stretch
Into the night,
As that’s
Just what I do,

It’s the way
My work is set up,
Which makes this sunny day,
Oh, so much more beautiful!

Everlasting: Flow

I had
Quite a scare,
As Fibromyalgia jitters
Grabbed me by the hair

But then I saw
How existence is,
That there is no distinction
Between nibbana/nirvana and THIS,

No distinction between
Existence and non-existence,
Permanence and impermanence
Self and not self,

This right here is it,
The flow of what is,
What isn’t,
What is and what isn’t,

Everything I see
Is it
And so
Am I

And you are it too
And so is everything else,
Everything above, below,
Before, behind, beside and within

And this is all
We need to know,
Over and over,
Every moment

And even when
We are through knowing,
If that is what happens,
We will still be what we are,
Which is, just this.

Establish: Garbage in, Garbage Out

There’s nothing to be attained and there’s no one here to attain it,
Or so I’ve heard.

But then, who is typing this?

Nobody is typing this.
In fact, there is no typing either.
But what does this mean?
UNKNOWN.

How then do you stop clinging?
YOU can’t.
Because, there’s no YOU to cling,
No YOU to stop clinging,
No clinging and no not clinging.

It’s all a dream
And there’s nothing outside the dream,
As the dream is no different from what there is.
But what is the nature of this dream/what there is?
UNKNOWN.

SYSTEM MEMORY INSUFFICIENT
THIS PROGRAM HAS PERFORMED AN ILLEGAL OPERATION AND WILL BE SHUT DOWN.
SYSTEM CRASH
MEMORY PURGED
SYSTEM RESTART
IGNORANCE IS BLISS,
FOLLOWED BY
SUFFERING,
FOLLOWED BY
THERE IS SUFFERING
BUT WHO IS SUFFERING?
NOBODY.
REALIZATION.
CESSATION OF SUFFERING.
DATA ENDS.

But if I want to eat now,
I still have to make supper!

Espouse: Delving into Impermanence

Impermanence
Is on my mind,
I see it clearly
Whenever I look deeply
Into whatever I find,

My clinging it unbinds,
As I clearly perceive
The pointlessness
Of grasping onto anything;

And too,
Even the experience of
Knowing impermanence
Is impermanent

But if there is a purpose,
It seems to me,
We’re here to know
The freedom of thoroughly knowing:

Suffering
And it’s causes,
Cessation of clinging
And the path to that end,

That all the pleasures
And the pains
Of this world,
Are impermanent,

When one discerns this completely,
This is
The good news of
The Buddha Dhamma,

To discover this
And discern it fully
Is to be wide open to
The truth of the end of suffering.

Enfranchisement: Free to Be

When you stop
Connecting
Your moments
Together,
This is freedom.

When you stop
Thinking
That
This causes that
Or this gives rise to that,

When you stop
Thinking,
When this arises
That arises,

But instead
Realize
The spontaneity
Of all conditions and events,
Then you are free.

Free to be at ease,
Free to explore
The exploration
And all that accompanies all,
All that is all.

And then,
The roller coaster ride
Continues to unfold,
The train keeps running
Over the tracks;

You can enjoy the view
Or gasp in horror,
Squeal with delight
Or rest in effortlessness,
Laugh or cry in comfort or discomfort.

Endeavouring: Exploring the Stream

If there were a division
Between Nirvana and Samsara,
Nirvana would be unattainable
But as there is no separation,
There is nothing to attain,

Nevertheless, Nirvana is realized
But what is realized?
We all live in delusion
And will continue to do so,

But as this delusion is shared,
There is no reason for sorrow
And yet there is ample justification for compassion,
As attachment to this delusion produces much suffering;

But the good news is
This suffering is
Not distinct from Nirvana,
As they are inseparable;

Looking through suffering,
One sees Nirvana
And looking through Nirvana
One sees there is suffering,

The one supports the other,
So one needs to let go of both
And yet there is no need to let go of either,
For holding on is inseparable from letting go.

Suffering is really no different from not suffering,
So there’s nothing to worry about,
One is always secure,
Always safe;

It’s said that
In understanding one Noble Truth,
For example, suffering, one understands them all.
YES! I think perhaps this is so.

Drilling: Seeking Further

So, once satisfaction
Is obtained
What then?
What’s all the fuss?

Compassion arises
Towards all the world,
For which
There is no solution

But one
Has to try,
For that’s
How it goes,

We still
Need a problem
To solve,
No matter how impossible;

Tis our nature,
It seems,
To always be seeking
Solutions and applying these;

This futility
Knows no bounds
But it’s okay,
Just what we do;

It feels so good
To make the effort;
And without stress
We’d all be droopy noodles!

It’s the way of all beings
To pursue,
Even when
Nothing will do.

Costumed: Reality in Disguise

Through this moment
Everything is found;
Looking in the mirror
Or a still pool of water,

We may forget the glass
And the water,
But they are
Part of the scene,

Their essence
Is integral
To the view
We see,

And the apparatus
Of our eyes
Is a major ingredient,
As well as the brain;

None is independent
Of the other;
All are indispensable
For creating the picture;

And, through this image,
The other sensations
And impressions,
We find happiness and freedom,

For they dwell
Right before us
In each moment
We experience,

And although we may need to go
Many places in our busy day,
There’s really
No place else to go
To find our heart’s desire.

Calculate: The Way to Liberation . . . Perhaps

Today dawned clear
But the swells were up,
I shivered in the bottom of
My little boat,
As it tossed and turned
Like a restless sleeper.

I too could find no rest
From my doubts and worries,
And although I considered what plan was best
I accomplished little,
And in utter frustration
Finally abandoned my tasks.

Now, once again the sun has set
And I’m drying out my clothes
That the sea has wet,
And watching the gulls circling overhead.

In addition to these ordinary chores,
I listened to some audio dharma talks once more,
And obtained some reassurance from
The words of wisdom I encountered there.

The way through to the end of suffering,
It’s been said,
Is to traverse the suffering itself,
And this observation confirms what I’ve discovered.

I had spent the day wrestling with
One of my old patterns of reacting,
And reached the same conclusion
From that experience.

And so, I confront this sobering fact
That I can’t go forward until I get unstuck
From the painful feelings that keep recurring,
But once I do that and they pass on through,
I’ll be on my way across the bonnie blue.

Bursting: How will I ever be free?

And the answer is:
If I cling to
The point of view
That all is lost,
Then all is lost.

If I see tragedy all around me,
And identify with that,
This is the strategy
That will generate
The most suffering.

If, on the other hand
I attach to a different perspective,
For example,
One of the triumph of
The human spirit,
And identify with that,
I will obtain some
Temporary relief
From my pain,
But will still not end
My suffering.

Ideally, I need to
Let go of both,
But perhaps
To do so all at once
Is too much.

Until then,
I’m still stuck on
Loss and gain,
And so it shall remain,
For the time being.

There’s no use fleeing;
I will just have to
Go on hoping to be seeing
Clearly again soon.

Bumpy: Nightlight

Insomnia attack
But freedom came back.
To be with rage and fear
But not disturbed by it
Was exhilarating, liberating,
Like looking at the stars
Laying in the bottom of a rowboat.

The stars are full of heat,
Intense solar winds,
Immense gravitational forces,
Dynamic, chaotic, explosive.
But on a still lake
In the calm of the night,
They are a beautiful sight.

Freedom is in this too,
Every thought, sensation,
And feeling;
There’s nothing to fear
In any of these,
Naught to shrink from,
But only to observe and know,
No need to act on that seen
But just to be.

Always seeing light and dark:
Searching for the glow,
While travelling through the gloom.
When looking for one
Find the other.
Forever free,
Yet sometimes just don’t see it,
But every time seeing it
Only have to be it.

Looking deeply,
Even into misery,
There is freedom there too.