re-calling bodhicitta

remembering bodhicitta..
the awakened heart..
the awakened mind..
the heartmind..awake

defined simply ~

the arising of spontaneous
and limitless compassion
for all sentient beings
&
the falling away of attachment
to the illusion
of an inherently existent self....

camels, monkeys and boars

o my!
and..
at least three hundred thousand humanoids..
on pilgrimage..
for the kalachakra..
for circumambulation of the great stupa..
for general mischief making amongst the high holies..

rains have come w/ the typhoon
which lessened the dust...
leaving us all in mud..
now dry again..
dust again..
imagine robed monks, tibetans,
chai wallahs and westerners
all wearing masks to keep
our noses clean..

finding easy breath is not an easy task..
though that is the instruction from the buddha..
on the winds of humanity i am blown about..
contentent is also the instruction..
always maintain a happy mind..

confession:
i have cut in line twice!
i have no explanation..no excuse..
yogini behaving badly..

(a friend here has said that
i am living off of my good merit..
i feel certain that two cuts
in line bring me back to zero..
~ time to start accumulating
positive deeds once again..
back of the line i go..)

transience

transience..the state of being brief and short-lived....

transient, the wandering poor...
a homeless person..
a bum..a hobo..
a traveler..a wanderer..

mono no aware...
a feeling of transience -
the pathos of things..
an empathy toward things..sensitive to ephemera ..
japanese ~ awareness of impermanence and the transience of things -
a gentle sadness or wistfulness at their passing...


SAITAN New Year`s Poem
Shodo Harada Roshi 2012

the dragon is bringing forth great waves and drinking up heaven and earth
difficulties have opened our eyes, cutting through the root of life and death
pressed by a rock, hanging from a cliff, the flower grows upside down
the wish for new life comes forth, the source of great peace

india..a dream..transitory.
leaving seattle ..
many watched as i dragged my bags behind me..
joining the ranks..
a transient..a wandering fool..
heading to the great land of wanderers..
ah! home sweet om..

here in the mud and muck of holy molies..
i laugh and sing and dance my way
to the edge of the precipice..
over and over and over..
the eighty foot buddha winks at me
in dusky dust of morning..
we chuckle over the big joke..
hot water..electricity..
in a blink...gone! gone! gone!