Close the Book: haiku
I follow no book;
I recognize no guru.
Truth is not written.
Some may point the way;
others show by example.
There is no method.
There is right and wrong;
either can build or destroy.
Both sides are losers.
Tag: haiku
Idiocracy
In a post-truth world the art of lying is lost; no one’s good at it.It takes imagination and some creativity. In a post truth world, there’s no need for flattery; why bother with it? You can simply fake the facts and seem like a real genius. In a post truth world no news isn’t just […]
Emptiness
Our entire lifetime: a short line drawn in water; soon nothing remains. It doesn’t matter what ink or how much pressure you use. What seems important doesn’t leave an impression in time’s vast ocean. Each of us is a mirage; Not even wetness is real. 17 FEB 2025 © 2025, John Litzenberg. All rights reserved.
The Lineage of Fog
Grasping our nothing we try sharing everything; we are all alone. Wholeness disguises itself in the mirror’s reflection. We hold our nothing like a vast, sacred treasure; our fingers give out. Beyond the edge of owning, true experience begins. 22 JAN 2025 © 2025, John Litzenberg. All rights reserved.
Bodhisattva
There is no trying: Either you are a Buddha or you are not One. Once past duality there is no more “in training”; linear time ends, and everything is connected as Everything. There is nothing else. Just you and the breath, this moment right here and now: being Bodhisattva. 22 AUG 2024 © 2024, John […]
Be Here Now, Or Don’t Be
Think about this, now:being here right here, there is nobeing somewhere else.What you “want” doesn’t matter; wish in one hand, as they say. If you choose elsewhereas the place where you must be,you’re not here at all.And where does that choice leave you? Just where did you leave yourself? Take a minute to check:you’re either […]
Zazen
Breathing in and outIsn’t just for the cushion;It’s the entire thing.If you practice just sitting,This moment is everywhere. Try to stop breathing, And your attention can’t last;You are mind and body.Pretending at something elseRequires a lot of thinking. Everything you doRequires breathing in and out;It’s all important.So everything is sacred,And that is also empty. 21 […]