Be Here Now, Or Don’t Be
Think about this, now:
being here right here, there is no
being somewhere else.
What you “want” doesn’t matter;
wish in one hand, as they say.
If you choose elsewhere
as 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 right here and now,
or you’re not, at all.
If you think too long about it,
you’ve wasted another now.
25 JUL 2024
Zazen
Breathing in and out
Isn’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 else
Requires a lot of thinking.
Everything you do
Requires breathing in and out;
It’s all important.
So everything is sacred,
And that is also empty.
21 JUL 2024
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Well then there now…
What’s happening now
is all there is of what’s left
in your warranty.
If this was your life’s last act,
how would you be remembered?
Don’t put anything off;
put all of your energy
into everything.
You only have this minute.
What else are you waiting for?
11 JUL 2024
06.28.24
Becoming A
Have you ever seen
someone become, in this life,
a bodhisattva –
I mean, who wasn’t one yet
when they started on their way?
If you can become
a thing you’re not already,
how is that trick done?
Not through potential or work –
that gets you Somewhere.
When your salt doll self
measures the ocean’s suchness,
the shore melts away.
What could be left to become
when you’re only here?
28 JUN 2024
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The Same Breath
So many choices
in a moment’s tiny span;
is it destiny?
No matter your direction,
the path will stay beneath you.
The door is open.
You stand at a great threshold;
which way do you move?
There is just air on both sides.
Never take the same breath twice.
27 JUN 2024
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A Drop in the Bucket
His Holiness came
to visit the Big Easy:
a mixed race culture.
He spoke to thousands:
they lined up for hours to hear
his message of peace.
His smiling face shone
on all those who assembled;
what great energy!
Practice compassion,
be kind and giving to all:
we are all the same.
After it was done,
the throng of rich, white faces
sought the French Quarter.
While poor, black people
(still the large part of New Orleans)
went about their day.
Five hundred thousand:
the dollars raised for this trip.
That’s a chunk of change.
20 MAY 2013
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It is not enough
It is not enough;
this sad waiting to evolve
serves no real purpose.
What good is this time,
if we long for what is next
and learn nothing here?
It is not enough
to stand around here waiting
expecting great change.
What good are those dreams,
if no one can be inspired
to act upon them?
It is not enough
just to think and talk and wish;
there must be movement.
What use are mere thoughts?
They cannot motivate us
until they catch fire.
08 APR 2013
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