The Journey of Souls

("Pema", 2017, original pen and ink) The Journey of Souls Dogs make the ultimate example Of a conditionable being, And my deaf-dog buddy Old Pema the Pug is no exception. Meanwhile Buddhists of all faiths Believe reincarnation effects us all And involves the journey Of a soul through countless lives, The idea of improving our lot Being central to life’s meaning, Improvement which comes from the habit Of accentuating the positive and eliminating The negative, combined with deep insight Into our true nature. One way to do this is through meditation And contemplation in a mindful way, But the point is, it’s up to each of us to do. So back to my pug. Like I said he’s getting old, But he’s still a best friend And I’m sure I mean the world to him too At least in the basic fact of how he’s bonded to me In a way that’s sweet but Also unfathomable. This morning as I worked on a project Building some closet shelves in my study He came to hang out with me And of all the soft spots available Chose to take his place On my meditation cushion A spot he has over the years grown familiar with. And it strikes me as a profound Yet obvious fact that his conditioning Is leading him to not only follow me In this life, But to set a course for his future lives To improve his lot Whether he knows it or not. Maybe at some point I had a similar mentor. I did flash once on seeing the dark soothing inside Of an ancient Tibetan temple From the edge of a wide open windowsill High above the valley below, And in the moment recognized Something of the heart, something familiar A point of some significance Now matured in time To something vastly different. And the thought occurred to me Perhaps I was a small bird then Attracted to the place, perhaps simply By a morsel of food, But in the moment heard and felt Something much more significant Much more substantial and transformative. Maybe it was a million years ago In a different galaxy, Maybe it was just a lifetime or two ago. What does it matter To the dreamer dreaming this now? Like for my pug Pursuing his own self interest life after life, It makes all the difference, And eventually becomes self evident To mean everything. (2/21/24)