harmonic convergence

there were four of us that converged
at the marque du san fran
to be in the good graces
and grande company of HHDL
(his holiness, the 14th dalai lama)
and one another.

there was gail s.-
whose capacity for deep listening
is fathomless;
her story-telling beyond compare..
there was susan s.-
whose subtle tastes for food
kept us watering at the mouth;
guessing ingredients at every dish..
and nancy b.-
whose sharp wit and dry humour
made laughter our mantra
for the four+ days we spent together..

the weather was exceptionally
warm during the day;
the wind kicked us around at night.
the city was filled with the fragrance
of exotic flowers and homeless ones..
HHDL made mention in his public talk
that he would like to help feed them
at one of the nearby soup kitchens.
when asked of the number of homeless,
he was told nearly 5000-6000 of them.
we each surmised there were many more than that!

the teachings were from two texts:
the main text,
in praise of dependent origination
was spontaneously composed by je tsongkhapa
and is considered one of the most profound
in tibetan buddhism in that it addresses
the relationship between emptiness,
the ultimate nature of reality,
and dependent origination:
the realization that things do not exist
independently from other factors,
such as causes and conditions.

the supplemental text,
hymn to [the buddha] the world transendent
was compose by nagajuna.
our beloved teacher actually
spent the lion's share (roar)
on the supplemental!

we all came away with....
"no arising and no disintegration"

"an existent thing does not arise;
nor does a non-existent as well, nor does both;
neither from itself nor from another,
nor from both; how can there be arising?"

we ate well.
we did our karmic yoga..
distributing pamphlets
for the tibetan nuns project.
(tnpusa@igc.org)
we were all walkmongers..
past larkin and larkin
to mission and 21st
to bush and stockton
to the ferry building
and back..
we listened to poems
from the homeless,
offered spare change,
ate chocolate
and flirted with..
what was his name?

as quickly as we descended,
we all ascended..
each to their own
world transcendent..
reflecting..
"by what means can i enhance this teaching..?"

the more we care for the happiness of others,
the greater our own sense of well-being becomes.
cultivating a close, warm-hearted feeling
for others automatically puts the mind at ease.
it is the ultimate source of success of life.
-HHDL