Category: Spiritualibus

Mandala medicine
turning the wheel
consciously at last
that’s what we think
is flushed, rinsed off
with heart tears of joy
and deepest gratitude
what more is there to say
when thank you says it all
and silent sound is present
embracing everything and all
reverberating from the past
enlightening the present
moment by moment
all the way home.

“Mandala medicine wheel dance” — an invitation

Mandala medicine from Heaven and Earth

Heaven and Earth have endured for a long time. Heaven and Earth can endure for a long time because they do not exist for their own sake. This is why they can endure.

Therefore, the sage (shèng rén 聖人) remains in the background, and yet he stands at the forefront. He sets aside his own self and yet remains steadfast. Is this not because he has no self-interest? Because of this, he is able to realize his true nature.

— Laotse / Laozi, Tao Te Ching / Dào Dé Jīng 道德经, #7, translation group with Elena Camesi Janke

Illumination in the forest — an invitation from Heaven to Earth

May our feet be rooted on Earth and our head in Heaven!

Sleep, eat, practice
happiness is the key
to unlock the secrets
why you have parents
so are also teachers
on this very journey
from there to here
to be fair and kind
no theater then
help as possible
ask the heart
loving life
and chose
what fits
embrace
all else
detach
let go
and be
open eyes
and mouth
back straight
shoulders back
rest in peace
now ever
as it is.

“Dharma wheel medicine” — sleep, eat, practice

Sleep, eat, and practice being awake in joy

“One who conquers himself is greater than another who conquers a thousand times a thousand men on the battlefield. Be victorious over yourself and not over others. When you attain victory over yourself, not even the gods can turn it into defeat.”

“Better to live in freedom and wisdom for one day than to lead a conditioned life of bondage for a hundred years.”

“Why is there laughter, why merriment, when the world is on fire? When you are living in darkness, why don’t you look for light?”

“Your own self is your master; who else could be? With yourself well controlled, you gain a master very hard to find.”

“Don’t neglect your own duty for another, however great. Know your own duty and perform it.”

“Let us live in joy, never hating those who hate us. Let us live in freedom, without hatred even among those who hate.”

— The Dhammapada (#103-105, 113, 146, 160, 166, 197), translated by Eknath Easwaran, pp. 135, 136, 150, 157, 158, 177

Full thunderstorm rainbow after much heat

May you and I, may we all sleep, eat, and practice well!

Guilty as charged
but not admitting
a prevalent pattern
now of being human
these current days
can we get away
with such at all
appears more
and more again
in the long run
it cannot work
and while it does
proves immaturity
and great ignorance
that triggers suffering
and lost connection
with what is real
and each other
instead together
better unified
than divided
or exclusive
for life includes
compassion
joyful love
in balance.

“Om savasti blues” — a wish for auspiciousness

Guilty of immaturity and wisdom as charged

“The immature who know they are immature have a little wisdom. But the immature who look on themselves as wise are utterly foolish.”

“Sweet are selfish deeds to the immature until they see the results; when they see the results, they suffer.”

“The immature go after false prestige — precedence …, power …, and praise from all… [Surfacing as:] ‘I am right and you are wrong.'”

“As irrigators guide water to their fields, as archers aim arrows, as carpenters carve wood, the wise shape their lives. As a solid rock cannot be moved by the wind, the wise are not shaken by praise or blame.”

“I have conquered myself and live in purity… I have left everything behind, and live in freedom. Having taught myself, to whom shall I point as teacher?”

“One… who is free from I, me, and mine, who knows the rise and fall of life. Such a one is awake and will not fall asleep again.”

— The Dhammapada (#63, 69, 73-74, 80-81/145, 353, 419), translated by Eknath Easwaran, pp. 123-124, 126-127/145, 236-237, 252

Guilty as charged in freedom — full of light

May you and I, may we all live in freedom, full of light!

Spotlight attention
nurturing a focus
or then opposite
deny any attention
suppress what’s off
and on will light up
most basic choice
practice every day
moment by moment
listening to the silence
so sounds harmonize
too low or too high
settle for octaves
as anchor points
though replacing
is not acceptable
as so often seems
but what else is here
in the sound of silence
than this calm abiding
breathing in and out
listening and looking
the eternal harmony
in everything and all
sentient beings
now awake
see and hear
a rainbow bridge
Beringia frozen dry
connecting continents
for human life migration
leaving a deep memory
in the sound of drums
accented by the horn
and cymbals crash
while chants pray
to harmony in all
fragile, strong
silent and calm
the core of breath
overtones, harmonics
reverberate of origins
through transmission
lines reach way back
and forward in time
past now and future
relish what’s common
let go of the differences
together is the strength
while the divisions fall
short of wholesome
spotlight attention.

“Happiness is the key” — homage to Khandroma

Meditating earnestly and attentively

“If you meditate earnestly, pure in mind and kind in deeds, leading a disciplined life in harmony with the dharma, you will grow in glory. If you meditate earnestly, through spiritual disciplines you can make an island for yourself that no flood can overwhelm.”

“Do not give your attention to what others do or fail to do; give it to what you do or fail to do.”

— The Dhammapada (#24-25 and #50), translated by Eknath Easwaran, pp. 109 and 118

Spotlight attention on the beauty of parting

May our attention always find the spotlight of silence!

Covet conceit
to be free of it
embrace closely
all that is real
breathe in
and out.

Can you know
a resolving solution
unless you experienced
and recognize entirely
underlying problems
a striking revelation
breathe in and out.

Accept you covet
wallowing in conceit
so you find a way out
realizing this is neither
what you want nor real
essence of the wholesome
impatience to learn patience
tension to recognize serenity
confusion to realize clarity
thus embrace all that is
so it may transform
and then dissolve
breathing in
and out.

“J’en ai marre” — How much is too much?

How to keep coveting conceit at bay?

“He who wants a rose must respect her thorn.” (Persian proverb)

“Just as the sand settles into stillness… so too can the mind find clarity in silence.”

“Words are but one way to express our understanding… Sometimes, the heart speaks louder in silence than in sound. Compassion and love can flow through presence and action, beyond the confines of language.”

“It is time for the outer development of technology to be matched by the inner development of humanity. The world only changes when we envision the transformation we wish to see. The task for us is to imagine another way and shepherd it into being.”

— Jack Kornfield All in this together, pp. 23, 48, 49, and 89

Three famous guardians who don’t covet conceit

May all who did covet conceit realize a wholesome balance!