Karma is real
Across eons
Stay woke
Thro' troubles
Thought simple
Vistas pure
Maladies heal
Spirits soar
Leave the dark
Endure the present
Dwell on trutjh
Grow compassion
Advance to Dharma
Pure in spirit
A soul at peace
Tranquil from within
(“The Longest Journey”, 2020, original encaustic)
Each of us a composite
Layered layers
Around a core
Elusive, beyond name
Pure, yet deceptively plain.
Around this core of Holy Spirit Buddha Nature
The mortal coil of flesh and psychic ethers
Veils our nature in all its aches and pains,
Fears, anxieties and confusions
Simply Being Human.
Pure and tainted bound together
A marriage of opposites
Cursed and blessed by turn
But joined none the less
In an inexplicable union of empty-appearance.
Just as we clothe our naked bodies
Our empty nature lies hidden from view.
We see and appreciate
The layers that buffer and protect,
But ultimately miss what lies beneath.
(3/18/26)
(Persian rug depiction of Heaven)
I move forward
Sometimes strong and true
Sometimes stumbling
But always forward
As if towards a goal.
Then I see
I’ve really just been going ‘round and ‘round
A wheel, a cycle, a spiral
Ever returning.
Maybe it’s a trap
A Möbius loop
With no way out,
But maybe it’s just a path
That is already perfect,
Perfectly what is
My path in Life
Through an intricate and complete mandala
Of total inclusivity
The good, the bad, the light and dark.
(1/29/26)
Blood from blood, bone from bone,
Under the partially eclipsed moon of a burgundy-red sky,
A murder of crows gathers on the barren carcass of branches,
Whilst mist clings to a chipping tombstone.
Hardened petrichor shifts ever so slightly,
Awaiting the awakening of revenge incarnate.
The witching hour is almost upon us;
Noir-cloaked figures emerge from the passing shadows.
A High Priestess holds firm an ancient Book of Shadows.
As the metaphysical clock strikes two,
Yellowed pages frantically flip to an incantation.
The underlings take their positions at the four corners,
While she takes her place in the center.
Chanting the passage simultaneously, resurrection is forthcoming,
As shrivelled nightshade blooms to ritualistic life
And the paramount witch returns from her unsettled slumber.
The Wheels of Dharma turn in their favour.
Scorched lands and vengeance follow,
As Armageddon ushers in a new era.
I reincarnated into this life to calmly observe.
I am also here to experience what I deserve.
I am still on this journey learning just whom and how I shall serve.
There’s no council without wise old,
Nor old that vouch dharma nor virtue,
No virtue, truth would not uphold,
Nor truth free from fraudulent hue!
______________________
Translation |20.10.2024|assembly, old, virtue, truth, trickery
Poet’s note: Sanskrit has thousands of verses of wisdom called Subhashhitam. This verse is taken from Mahabharata, Sabha Parva. Draupadi was molested in the royal court despite the presence of wise old people like Bheeshma, Drona, Vidur, and Kripacharya. They were all talking about dharma while allowing such a thing to happen. (What Draupadi said is valid; what Duryodhan argued is also not invalid…) The transliteration of the Sanskrit verse follows:
Na saa sabhaa yatra na santi vriddhaah,
vriddhah na te ye na vadanti dharmam |
Dharmah na vai yatra cha na asti satyam,
satyam na tat yat chhala na anu-viddhyam ||
Raising hands, hoarse do I cry,
No one hears, nor bothers to try,
Wealth and wants be had by virtue,
Why not then that’s what ye pursue?
__________________________
Translation |01.09.2024|
Poet’s note: At the end of the massive hundred thousand verses of Mahabharata, a historical epic in poetic medium, poet Vyasa in utter desperation comes to this verse on dharma. Now, dharma is the central theme of this epic and a lot is said on it. Yet, few seem to follow this virtuous path of dharma. The transliteration of the Sanskrit verse follows:
Urdhva baahu viraumi esha, na cha kashchit shrunoti me |
Dharmaat arthah cha kaamah cha, sah kim artham na sevyate ||
- Mahabharata, Bhaarat Saavitri ||
heard of Kamala
really does have much karma
along with dharma
Karma - Search (bing.com)
Dharma - Search (bing.com)
Dem nomination
a Trump abomination
of our great nation
one more creation
invite with invitation
sing incantation
("Spinning Earth", 2016)
The Impermanent
What is impermanent, by definition,
Doesn’t last and can’t remain,
And what is not impermanent?
Yet each of us has a lingering thought
That something must be.
So we habitually project this intuition,
This inner knowing of the most holy,
Onto the everyday and profane.
We think maybe we are somehow permanent
Or maybe what we create, what we accomplish and achieve
Will somehow become so.
But obviously these are vain hopes
We all know deep down are not it.
Still we know that something must be
Beyond the bounds of change,
Something that is, now and always,
A constant source of solace and guidance
An IT that is somewhere within us and without us.
We know, but cannot say, what is true
Not because we don’t want to, or lack the words,
But because what we intuit
As the changeless has no name, no concept
Beyond mere labels which by definition miss the mark.
This is the original sin we all share, after all,
The lack of ability and facility
To grasp the ungraspable
And so we settle instead to grasp in vain
The impermanent.
(1/8/23)
And in your eyes I saw the harm,
I saw the dharma,
I saw the karma,
I saw two sparrows and crossroads,
and lovers intertwined,
for your eyes to me were my love for my life,
I saw the damage,
saw the pain,
for your eyes were the colour of black,
as black as my darkness,
as wide as my wide love for you,
and as true,
for you were always true to me,
and you hurt me,
and I hurt you,
and we danced in a vibrant pagoda,
and I kissed your lips,
for I had yearned to kiss your lips,
and I wanted to earn your lips,
and keep them close to my ears,
and have them whisper to me,
lover,
and have them sing to me,
and have them please me,
and speak to me and ease me,
and in your eyes I saw the plausible,
and the impossible,
I saw the moon and a river,
and the young child that I was
when I first loved you,
and the young child I wanted to again become,
in your arms.
Right View, Intention, Speech, Action, Livelihood, Effort, Mindfulness, Meditation
May we always clear our eyes so we may see clear
May we always put out the best intention beginning with our mind
May we speak only in a tongue free of slander and lies
May we act in a way that speaks volumes of our altruism
May we choose a livelihood that is in harmony with our soul
May we always find it in us to create the effort to better
ourselves
May we always be mindful of others and how we treat
them
May we choose meditation as a vehicle to self exploration and healing.
May we always seek the light without rebuking the darkness in us, for they are all part of one and the same
in the great tapestry of action and reaction
we need to accept ourselves and others just as we are.
Namaste
know thyself; is your life on the right track
aligned with, refined by, the principles of dharma
refrain, abstain, be kind and be calmer
meditate, seek meaning: find moral momentum
all actions count on this trip to nirvana
The souls of the Masters are doing a dance, their only goal to help humans
enhance..
Keep an open heart what ever you believe for God is inclusive in his tapestry.
Our earth rotates and pulses with it's own dharma, so pay close attention to your own karma.
Engaging in action, based on dharma,
without anticipating an outcome,
generates for the earth soul, no karma.
Such desirelessness is found quite seldom,
for all that monks yearn for, is God’s kingdom.
Looking from afar, at their detachment,
we secretly admire their contentment,
wishing that one day we too do ascend,
standing erect, blissful, luminescent
but are loathe to let go, will to love bend.
24-March-2022
Notes:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharma
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karma
Marooned in that,
wretched office cubicle;
I went inside to see;
I communed with my soul.
An artist has to paint;
a composer has to create;
and a writer has to write;
so my soul and I deduced,
that I would never be
happy until I lived my life.
I tried so hard to please everyone else,
but I was never pleased; I lost…me.
Parent’s, teachers, bosses;
couldn’t see my efforts;
this blinded me to my own,
unlimited existence.
It may, “Take a village to raise a child”,
but no one can ever own one;
so, I owned my own life;
myself and my direction
and evolved back into…me.
Facing my Dharma,
revealed bold colors of my subconscious creativity
and this abstract of myself,
has made me happy.
Any village thrives with happy children;
it’s retaining that happiness throughout adult life that,
opens dark and confusing doors.
These challenges must be met within one’s own self.
If only all humans could…simplify;
a better life
and world awaits.
1-11-2022
Who Am I
Unseeking Seeker
Sub Categories
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