O to keep mind’s monkey at bay

A learned man in his discourse once said, 
Fear sin, fight with and save from sin your skin, 
To which a long silent sage objected: 
Stop this slaughter of self, sink in your sin. 
The learned man looked up from his discourse 
To say, what a fine mantra: Sink in sin! 
And asked: I’ve got the cart, pray, where’s the horse? 
Here ‘tis: Seek thy solace from what has been, 
Beware, never to think of mind’s monkey. 
It’s hard still to keep one’s monkey at bay, 
More ye try to miss, more it gets naughty,
An humble man from crowd had this to say: 
    Fight nor fear sin, nor run away from scene, 
    As witness watch from wings— involved, nor keen. 
_______________________________ 
Sonnet | 05.02.14, revised Jan 2025| humour, mind

Poet’s note: One’s true Self is atman, body nor mind, nor intellect. Atman is an enabler and never acts, but merely watches as a witness. If you try to keep mind away from sin, the mind will think all the more of sin. So, watch the mind’s monkey as a witness.
Copyright © | Year Posted 2025


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