kyolche forest walks

twenty one days walking in the woods

didn’t hear a sound.

too busy thinking

to pay attention,

today the gurgling brook

and birdcalls echo

deep in the forest.

clodding of boots

reverberate on the path—

blue lichen and green moss

cling to rocks and trees.

dead leaves

and decaying branches.

cover the forest floor

new life springing forth

from winter weary branches

today is the last day of kyol che

what am I?

“DON’T KNOW!”

when the walk is over

we clean the mud from our boots.

Diamond Hill Zen Monastery

Cumberland, RI
1997

Buddha's Birthday

two thousand five hundred

and fifty four years ago

a child was born

to Queen Maya

and King Suddhodana.

they named the child

Siddhārtha Gautama

and  the hermit seer Asita

prophesized that the child

would be a great king

or a great sage who

could save the world.

no one knew the path

he would take

not even the holy Asita was sure.

at twenty-nine

he walked away from wealth

and power and fame

to seek the path of the truth,

and from this selfless action

he has allowed us to discover

the holy truth for ourselves.

as we celebrate

this sacred event together

let us wonder what would have happened

had Chán Master Yúnmén

actually been there

at the time of his birth

and beat him with a stick

and fed him to a hungry dog,

what would we be celebrating today?

Asita’s prophesy was a big mistake,

Chán Master Yúnmén’s statement

was also a big mistake,

also, this poem is a big mistake.

look at the person

next to you and you

will see Buddha–

look in a mirror

and in the reflection

is also a Buddha.

outside the sun is shining–

inside there are many smiling faces

all come to pay homage

to Śakyamuni Buddha

and thank him for choosing

to be here today.

life and death

This is a poem I wrote when I had to leave a Zen Training Session held by my then teacher in Long Beach.

to my loving teacher Jibŏng Sŏnsa and our future Jido pŏpsa teachers Tim Colohan, SDPS, Anita Feng, SDPS and Eric Nord, SDPS

life and death,

coming and going,

is the true way

of the cosmos.

sŏnsa-nim will be teaching

each of you the Dao

through which we might open up

our students to this realization.

we, each of us, have been touched

by the sadness of parting

as well as the joy of reunion.

tonight, the five of us had a joyous reunion;

tomorrow, I pray I am in time to say goodbye

to my bless’d father.

I am sorry to leave this teachers meeting,

yet I know this is the correct thing to do;

you are in good hands

with our teacher

and this was what I most importantly

wanted to convey.

most of us in this universe

do not want to think about mortality,

yet this the very essence of what

makes us human beings,

we understand there is an endpoint

to this journey that we come to call life.

my sister informed me tonight

that my father almost died while

we were sitting and having dinner,

how strange the play of life is,

and how quickly situations can change,

yet this is the journey of a bodhisattva.

I must leave you in the good and skilled

hands of our bless’d teacher jibong.

I wanted so much to support this

event and to share in your insights,

but life has told me it is not to be.

I regret having to leave abruptly

and pray you will forgive my indolence,

but I know that each one of you

would do the same

had you been given this situation,

and this very knowledge

fills my heart with overwhelming joy.

Tim took such complete and utter

care of me tonight,

I felt warm and comfortable

in his love and compassion

and this is the essence of why we practice.

the question I have for you is simple,

can you help your students to see,

that cause and effect are clear?

that understanding our

correct situation

our correct condition

and our correct situation,

can cast away the confusion

and we can learn to function

completely in this world.

life is brief

and fleeting,

it is precious

and should be nurtured.

please pay attention

to our guide

and trust him completely

as I do,

I will see you all in February,

train hard

and know that the Dao

will help us all

attain a mind

which is clear

like space.

kwanseum bosal,

kwanseum bosal,

kwanseum bosal………….

Dōch’ŏng, JDPSN

January 26, 2008


my father passed away the next day while I was holding his hand.