in praise of dependent origination

the practice walk south
has landed me in san francisco..
the bill graham civic auditorium
with the 14th dalai lama..
two days of teachings on
interdependency.
there will be thousands
of others, traveling their
practice walk, to be in the
presence of tenzin gyatso.

on the way,
my dear project manager..
sir duck and his lovely wife..
took me to the "on the way"
rei store..
after much wading through
merrills, keens and vasques,
duck sighed and said:
"o...i had forgotten..
these are women..sigh...
women.. shopping for shoes...sigh"
he wandered to the book section
and buried himself in:
deep survival by lawrence gonzales

merrill boots made for walking
are now embracing toes,
worn down blisters, and callouses..
instructed to wear them slowly..
inside for hours before finding
the road ways..on the way..

to dependent arising..

"the great way has no gate.
clear water has no taste.
the tongue has no bone.
in complete stillness,
a stone girl is dancing."

zen master seung sahn

sea

the harbour seals are giving birth
daily to wee silkies..
the sandy beach is covered with
great mamas full to the brim
with their babes..
the seagulls hover to be the first
to claim the afterbirth..
the newbornes follow their ma's
instruction of chest tapping..
"come here, come here..
get your nourishment!"
every morning there are more babies
fluffing up the satin robes
they were borne in.

to be so close to the wild ones
gives clarity to the human ones..


"in the beginning was the tao.
all things issue from it;
all things return to it.

to find the origin,
trace back the manifestations.
when you recognize the children
and find the mother,
you will be free of sorrow.

if you close your mind in judgements
and traffic with desires,
your heart will be troubled.
if you keep your mind from judging
and aren't led by the senses,
your heart will find peace.

seeing into darkness is clarity.
knowing how to yield is strength.
use your own light
and return to the source of light.
this is called practicing eternity."

tao de ching

earth

"i stand by the river and i know
that it has been here yesterday
and will be here tomorrow
and that therefore,
since i am part of its pattern today,
i also belong to all its yesterdays
and will be a part of all its tomorrows.
this is a kind of earthly immortality,
a kinship with rivers and hills and rocks,
with all things and all creatures
that have ever lived
or ever will live
or have their being on the earth."
v.s. eifert

the living waters of monterey bay,
the beach just below..
the gray and mottled rocks have camouflaged
the mama seals and their baby ones..
looking intensely, the seeing eyes
slowly find the breath inside the breath
that transform rock into the great yet tender mammal..
we are of the same mammal-ness, yes?

remembre the book..?
kinship with all life -
a trippy tale of communion
with many a creature..
ants included!

singing my 'o trees' walking song
as i venture out for the days' wander..

"greatness is not where we stand,
but in what direction we are moving.
we must sail sometimes with the wind
and sometimes against it-
but sail we must,
and not drift, nor lie in anchor."
oliver wendall holmes

honoring the earth
under these blistered feet;
honoring the feet..

meals on wheels

the house on 2nd street
has seen alot of me..
i have been in and out
of this abode since my
eighteenth year..sharing
the grow up stuff with
my o so dear friend, 'b'
(barbara rose)
and her family..
loel has been mama # 2,
mark, a gemini brother..
dave, the duck..
(b's husband)
an endearing, enduring
friend of a lifetime..

o how many "merrwigdes"
have they wondered and witnessed?
o how many christmas stockings
i have rummaged through?
o how many cats and dogs
and precious friends
have sifted through
the cells of me..?
we've all been in theatre;
we know the scenes
of each others lives.

duck is my project manager.
he has traveled to bhutan,
nepal, the himalayas..
distant, exotic places
of high adventure and intrigue..
just ask for d-tales!

indeed he is the proper tool
for the proper job.

mark and i arrived "home"
late at night..
dave and loel were waiting up..
relieved to be among the tribe,
we spoke of weather..
blisters, news..

dave (et al) insists on new boots..
i have been walking with two
pair of high quality tennis shoes..
it seems odd to me that
after 4+ weeks of walking,
blisters arrive
making a mighty nuisance
on the sole plate..
karma!

food is a challenge on the open road.
there are plenty of sweets and string cheese,
plenty of burgers and sodas..
these are not the highest and best
for the likes of me..
so i have been eating oodles of bananas!
sandwiches, oranges..
nuts and berries
when i can find them..
foraging, foraging, foraging!

the warmth of a hot meal
with buddha and halima..
(they offered a small, copper angel
from mexico for the 2nd street house!)
toast and honey for brekkie..
a sit down dinner with dave
to discuss boots, routes..
obstacles..possibilities..

"there is no path.
paths are made by walking."
machado

sallie wisdom

speaking with my mama over the phone
is not an easy task...
as she is very hard of hearing.
on the oregon coast,
i would have to get
down on the sand
and the dunes to get a signal..
in order for her to hear me,
i would have to holler
mighty to communicate
with her..
hence, the entire beach
was privy to our conversation..
not copacetic..by any means
for the other beach combers!

i would write her cards and lettres
rather than invite others to
our boisterously loud communes..

when i arrived in pacific grove,
thanks to a ride from the
woodland cougar, mark..
(..i have missed
the avenue of the giants..
the coastal redwoods..)
i thought i would attempt
a phone call to ms. sallie.

after much talk about fruitcake
and poundcake with pecans..
i shared my doubts about
the walk..

o mama..can this really be the end?....

she quietly asked..
are you thinking of not continuing?
i expressed my fears
with a grandiose dose of self-pity..
she said..
"sweetheart, you have had
too much leisure time..
too much thought...
(all those dry-out bus rides!)
you know what happens to you.."

eeeek! i do! i do!

we spoke about giving up..
how that might well break my spirit..

..if i do decide to shift,
change, drop..
to honor that with grace..

"wait..see..
what the dalai lama
will say to you.."

!!!!!!!!!!!
rest in retreat
remembre the original intention..
!!!!!!!!!!!

somehow we were able to
speak easily without
breaking the sound barrier
on my part.
somehow she had my number;
she tore it up..
scattering the scraps
to the damp winds..

the one you feed,
my dear..
the one you feed!

feed the demons..feed the wolves

one evening an olde cherokee told
his grandson about a battle
that goes on inside people.
he said, "my son, the battle
is between two 'wolves'
inside us all.

one is evil.
it is anger, envy, jealousy,
sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance,
self-pity, guilt, resentment,
inferiority, lies, false pride,
superiority and ego.

the other is good.
it is joy, peace, love,
hope, serenity, humility, kindness,
benevolence, empathy, generosity,
truth, compassion and faith."

the grandson thought about it for a minute
and then asked his grandfather,
"which wolf wins?"

the olde cherokee simply replied,
"the one you feed."

love is the lord of all.....

"i did my best;
it wasn't much.
i couldn't feel,
so i learned to touch.
i've told the truth,
i didn't come to fool you.
and even though
it all went wrong,
i'll stand before
the lord of song
with nothing on my lips
but
hallelujah!"

leonard cohen