Conference: Practicing with Wise Speech

Disconnections,
Misconceptions,
Misunderstandings,
And such like snafus,

That’s today’s news,
But I refuse
To despair
Or cease to care,

I shall continue to try
And see eye to eye,
With those who confuse
Or are confused by

My particular way or style;
I’ll just wait a while,
Practice patience
Until I can do it

Without losing my balance,
My resolve will
See me through it,
Listening and clarifying,

Or simply accepting
And moving on
To the next item
In our communication,

No wasting time
Correcting what’s past,
But instead looking forward
To the next impasse;

‘That’ll be interesting,’
I’ll think, ‘Another opportunity
To fall into the sink,
But maybe this time I’ll test the waters,
Before I drink!’

Confederacy: All and One

Dreams and fantasies
All over the place,
Objects of love
Clutter this place,

Filled to capacity
With reminders
Of past joys,
Scattered about like abandoned toys.

Stacks of books
And papers boxed up,
So many memories
In every dish and cup,

Difficult to let them go
Along with the dust,
But even this body
Dissolves as it must.

All of it comes
And all of it goes,
Arises and passes,
Yet remains in its place,

Matter transforms
In an endless dance,
In which “I”
Becomes entranced,

But then recognizes its own emptiness,
What a shock, an endless surprise!
How “I” disappears/reappears/disappears, and so on,
Seen through its own eyes;

Neither peering out
Nor peering in, just seeing,
Sitting on and being everything at once
And getting dizzy from this view
Of being.

Conduit: Unpleasant Opening

Chapter two of
The renovators;
Hurricane force winds
Stir up the waters,

Back to thinking,
“Unpleasant, unpleasant,”
And so forth,
And “pleasant, pleasant” in between.

What a tempest,
How the swells rage,
Washing up a disagreeable opportunity
To see more clearly,

And already seen
Is how awareness of unpleasant
Makes pleasant more so,
And how they intermingle;

Gradually understanding grows
That both are together,
And it’s a matter of emphasis,
But hard work all the same!

The test will be
Whether acknowledging unpleasant/pleasant,
Can prevent these noisy interlopers
From toppling the mast;

Will this practice help?
Or will this gale
Overturn the boat?
The outcome is yet to be discovered,

The result to be determined,
But either way, may any merit
Accrued by this effort,
Be shared by all sentient beings:
May they too benefit from this practice!