Śakyamuni Buddha once said, 
this world is an ocean of suffering.
Seung Sahn once said,
so much suffering inside of Nirvana Castles.
what is this world in which we live,
and what do we manifest each day.
there is greed,
this is for sure.
there is hate,
that is for sure.
there is divisiveness and vitriol,
at every juncture of our experience.
the question it seems is what do we do with
all the hate and negativity that comes our way.
don’t react,
that would be losing your heart of love.
do not harden your heart
because you see no answers.
for you,
yes you,
are the answer.
open your heart and engage 
this life of hate and negativity
and become a beacon of light
for your community.
it is painful and not pleasant 
to do this,
but if you allow your heart 
to completely break,
you will find your true-self
shining back at you in the marketplace.
none of us has the power
to change the world,
yet we all have the ability
to change ourselves.
once we do can do this,
we begin to realize
this is not a global problem,
it is right here
in our own back yards.
so, where do we begin you ask.
be kind,
do no harm,
be respectful
and know that 
these simple acts
will change the world.

Wonji Dharma

the meaning of thanksgiving

the meaning of thanksgiving

we aspire in this lifetime

to embody the love and compassion

of Avalokiteśvara.

we take many vows

along this path

only to ignore them

or not break them knowingly.

without intending to do harm

we also do much harm indeed,

for we live in this house

of frailty and impermanence.

the reason we give pause

and rest in our appreciation,

is that others have helped us

along this path,

with love, support, guidance

and most of all unconditional compassion.

family and friends who walk

this crooked path together,

point out the potholes

and sharp turns to protect us.

may we all rejoice in our family

of seven billion people today,

and know that each one of us

is special, and deserving

of the same love that we aspire towards.

Wonji Dharma

what is our life

originally, there is nothing,
we come into this world not knowing.
life evolves into learning,
then we attach to our ideas.
letting go always comes later,
we cannot do it when we are young,
this natural process of growing
and becoming an adult
is the way we all must evolve.
once we enter into our adult and checking state
we can begin to let all of our learning go.
it is here and now
that true don’t know exists.
it is the manifestation
of our true self
that transcends the boundaries of thought.

Dogs - Roger Waters

Dogs - Roger Waters


You gotta be crazy, you gotta have a real need.

You gotta sleep on your toes, and when you're on the street,

You gotta be able to pick out the easy meat with your eyes closed.

And then moving in silently, down wind and out of sight,

You gotta strike when the moment is right without thinking.




And after a while, you can work on points for style.

Like the club tie, and the firm handshake,

A certain look in the eye and an easy smile.

You have to be trusted by the people that you lie to,

So that when they turn their backs on you,

You'll get the chance to put the knife in.




You gotta keep one eye looking over your shoulder.

You know it's going to get harder, and harder, and harder as you

get older.

And in the end you'll pack up and fly down south,

Hide your head in the sand,

Just another sad old man,

All alone and dying of cancer.




And when you loose control, you'll reap the harvest you have sown.

And as the fear grows, the bad blood slows and turns to stone.

And it's too late to lose the weight you used to need to throw

around.

So have a good drown, as you go down, all alone,

Dragged down by the stone.




I gotta admit that I'm a little bit confused.

Sometimes it seems to me as if I'm just being used.

Gotta stay awake, gotta try and shake off this creeping malaise.

If I don't stand my own ground, how can I find my way out of this

maze?




Deaf, dumb, and blind, you just keep on pretending

That everyone's expendable and no-one has a real friend.

And it seems to you the thing to do would be to isolate the winner

And everything's done under the sun,

And you believe at heart, everyone's a killer.




Who was born in a house full of pain.

Who was trained not to spit in the fan.

Who was told what to do by the man.

Who was broken by trained personnel.

Who was fitted with collar and chain.

Who was given a pat on the back.

Who was breaking away from the pack.

Who was only a stranger at home.

Who was ground down in the end.

Who was found dead on the phone.

Who was dragged down by the stone.

Growing Up - And So Is Love

I found this on You Tube, and it is quite beautiful. Such a marvelous mix of Bernardo Bertolucci's film Little Buddha, and Kate Bush's song And So is Love.

Little Buddha is a 1994 feature film by Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci, starring Chris Isaak, Bridget Fonda, and Keanu Reeves as Prince Siddhartha (the Buddha before his enlightenment).

"And So Is Love" is a song written and recorded by musician Kate Bush. It was the fourth and final single release from the album The Red Shoes. Guest star Eric Clapton plays guitar on the track.

Released on 7 November 1994, the single climbed to number 26 in the UK Singles Chart. Its entry into the Top 40 marked Bush's first appearance on Top of the Pops in nine years. The lyric is about the end of a love affair, with the narrator declaring that both life and love are sad, and deciding that for the "sake of love," the two must set each other free.

 I remember asking Zen Master Seung Sahn what he thought about this movie after he had seen it. He told me, "Ah this is Westerners big mistake, everybody is interested in 'Enlightenment,' but Buddha's gift was the 43 years of teaching he gave us following that moment. So, this movie only deals with enlightenment and not with the difficult task of helping others to wake up to their own true nature."

Cranky Old Man

When an old man died in the geriatric ward of a nursing home in an Australian country town, it was believed that he had nothing left of any value.
Later, when the nurses were going through his meagre possessions, They found this poem. Its quality and content so impressed the staff that copies were made and distributed to every nurse in the hospital.

One nurse took her copy to Melbourne. The old man's sole bequest to posterity has since appeared in the Christmas editions of magazines around the country and appearing in mags for Mental Health. A slide presentation has also been made based on his simple, but eloquent, poem.

And this old man, with nothing left to give to the world, is now the author of this 'anonymous' poem winging across the Internet.

Cranky Old Man

What do you see nurses? . . .. . .What do you see?
What are you thinking .. . when you're looking at me?
A cranky old man, . . . . . .not very wise,
Uncertain of habit .. . . . . . . .. with faraway eyes?
Who dribbles his food .. . ... . . and makes no reply.
When you say in a loud voice . .'I do wish you'd try!'
Who seems not to notice . . .the things that you do.
And forever is losing . . . . . .. . . A sock or shoe?
Who, resisting or not . . . ... lets you do as you will,
With bathing and feeding . . . .The long day to fill?
Is that what you're thinking?. .Is that what you see?
Then open your eyes, nurse .you're not looking at me.
I'll tell you who I am . . . . .. As I sit here so still,
As I do at your bidding, .. . . . as I eat at your will.
I'm a small child of Ten . .with a father and mother,
Brothers and sisters .. . . .. . who love one another
A young boy of Sixteen . . . .. with wings on his feet
Dreaming that soon now . . .. . . a lover he'll meet.
A groom soon at Twenty . . . ..my heart gives a leap.
Remembering, the vows .. .. .that I promised to keep.
At Twenty-Five, now . . . . .I have young of my own.
Who need me to guide . . . And a secure happy home.
A man of Thirty . .. . . . . My young now grown fast,
Bound to each other . . .. With ties that should last.
At Forty, my young sons .. .have grown and are gone,
But my woman is beside me . . to see I don't mourn.
At Fifty, once more, .. ...Babies play 'round my knee,
Again, we know children . . . . My loved one and me.
Dark days are upon me . . . . My wife is now dead.
I look at the future ... . . . . I shudder with dread.
For my young are all rearing .. . . young of their own.
And I think of the years . . . And the love that I've known.
I'm now an old man . . . . . . .. and nature is cruel.
It's jest to make old age . . . . . . . look like a fool.
The body, it crumbles .. .. . grace and vigour, depart.
There is now a stone . . . where I once had a heart.
But inside this old carcass . A young man still dwells,
And now and again . . . . . my battered heart swells
I remember the joys . . . . .. . I remember the pain.
And I'm loving and living . . . . . . . life over again.
I think of the years, all too few . . .. gone too fast.
And accept the stark fact . . . that nothing can last.
So open your eyes, people .. . . . .. . . open and see.
Not a cranky old man .
Look closer . . . . see .. .. . .. .... . ME!!

One of my all time favorite songs, many of us try to ignore our dark sides. Being truthful is the first step to self awareness, I hope you enjoy.

Symphony of Science - The Poetry of Reality

>

Tonight Rev. Doshim Halaw shared another video by the same author with me and as I have followed all of these scientists and have been writing poetry for almost twenty years I felt it was appropriate to post this video here. There is a deep truth in the word of this video, I hope you enjoy.

The Poetry of Reality is the fifth installment in the Symphony of Science music video series. It features 12 scientists and science enthusiasts, including Michael Shermer, Jacob Bronowski, Carl Sagan, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Richard Dawkins, Jill Tarter, Lawrence Krauss, Richard Feynman, Brian Greene, Stephen Hawking, Carolyn Porco, and PZ Myers, promoting science through words of wisdom.

we go from blue to green

and then from

brown to saffron, red and gold.

by natural process this essence unfurls.

yet from gold to green

is a renewing of dharma

in fresh and vibrant ways

and this has always found its way.

from apparent end to a beginning

never understood

and from beginning to end

always understood.

why is it we breathe in and breathe out?

is it for my consumption of food and pleasure,

or is it to assist me in an aspiration to help others on this path?

does it matter if others recognize these efforts,

or do the efforts themselves result in our intended effort?

awakening is the only aspiration of our practicing,

if our directions deviates from this aspiration,

then we have totally lost our way.

is this life our own?

or is it just a passing thought

that we substitute for our lives?

these thoughts come and go

as well as our experiences

of the unfolding of reality.

do we live our existence?

or do we live a life

that has been handed to us?

this may not make sense to you right now,

and if it does not

please try to concentrate on why,

as our lives are so short

that even the slightest distraction

steals most, if not all of our unfolding life

from us and leaves us with

the expectations of others.

labyrinth

we weave our way

through a labyrinth of delusion

only to find that our thinking

has led us astray,

it is then

in that very moment

we see the ineffable truth

manifest

in the rising sun

or a floating cloud

or even a busy moment

on our way to start the day.

why is this so difficult,

when life and existence

is so simple?

it is because we love

our stories

and our opinions

and our logic

and our accomplishments

and our life

that we delude ourselves

into thinking we are living.

take back your life

and see this moment

outside of thought,

outside of time

and outside of space,

then what is left

is the only reality

we will ever know.

rev yuanzhi

3/7/2012