Counterbalance: Changing Sides

Finally,
Another rushing day,
After so long
Waiting for cool weather;

Heat slows me down,
But coolness
Sends me racing
And accomplishing;

Fall’s approaching,
Soon will be time again
For autumn tasks;
Nothing lasts,

Yet seasons somehow
Come round again,
Though never
Quite the same;

Not much sitting today,
And rather disorientating
After so many days
Of being enclosed,

More inner oriented,
Self-contained
Behind closed walls,
Yet, looking outwards too,

Investigating the scene,
Not sure where
I’m going now
Or where I’ve been,

Or whether I’m
Even moving at all,
Or just
Imagining
The whole thing.

Counteraction: Impermanence

My entry for today is based on a brief reflection upon the following:

"Among humans, these things, namely,
Gain, loss, status, disrepute, blame, praise, pleasure, and pain
Naturally are impermanent, uncertain, and liable to change.
The wise, ever mindful, understand these things
And contemplate them as always shifting and changing.
Thus, delightful things cannot oppress their minds,
They have no reaction to disagreeable things,
They have abandoned all liking and disliking (for worldly
concerns).
Further, they know the path of nirvana, dust-free and without
sorrow,
They have reached the other shore of existence and know this
correctly."*


Recently, I found this very helpful, when I was experiencing a great sense of loss. In particular, I considered the question, how could a loss be impermanent? What I found when I looked deeply into this question and deeply into my sense of loss amazed me, and enabled me, first to soften towards it and then to let go of it, at which point it dissolved. For anyone who would like to know what I found, I invite you to try it out for yourselves and see what happens.











*Anguttara Nikaya, Pathamalokadhamma Sutta (Sutta5), Metta Vagga (ch. 1), Atthakanipaata, Cited in Chödrön, Thubten, Chapter 5, Marketing the Dharma, In Hooked! Buddhist Writings on Greed, Desire, and the Urge to Consume, Edited by Stephanie Kaza, Boston & London: Shambhala 2005, p. 74.

Countenance: Playing

Ah, the marvelous monotony
Of daily life;
Drinking coffee,
I examine the liquid,

And the reflection
In the liquid
Fills me
With wonder;

I fill a Styrofoam cup
With water and place it
In the microwave
To heat it for tea,

And from somewhere unknown,
Happiness overflows
Into this seemingly
Ordinary task;

Then I realize,
I forgot to mix up
Some milk
From the powder,

But in place of
My usual irritation
Experience joyous amazement,
At how this could be so;

What is happening?
Where did this come from?
How long will it last?
I do not know.

But after a while
I forget about that,
And simply notice,
Study
And appreciate thoroughly.