Because of a few songs
wherein I spoke of their
mystery,
women have been
exceptionally kind
to my old age.
They make a secret place
in their busy lives
and they take me there.
They become naked
in their different ways
and they say,
“Look at me, Leonard
look at me one last time.”
Then they bend over the bed
and cover me up
like a baby that is shivering.
sources: Mr. Leonard [...]
sunday poem (by L.C.)
who ate my almonds?
Another sunny day. I don’t have to work till late afternoon and so I’m taking my time. Slept in, briefly noticed bird songs, listened to NPR about some grade 3 junior scientists, and went down to make tea. For my first meal, I counted out five almonds and put them next to the teapot. Went [...]
for years i felt ashamed
As reported by BBC News: Forty years ago, the President of the Federal Republic of Germany (then West Germany) Gustav Heinemann was asked if he loved his country. “I do not love the state,” he replied. “I love my wife.” It was a sign of how reluctant Germans were back then to display patriotism.
Memories of World War [...]
make me perfect
PERFECTION.
Call us for information
about lip enhancement.
Seeing this ad in a local paper made me think: what if I got my lips done, what would (have to) come next? The shape of my nose has never pleased me (“Rhinoplasty–for an improved self-image and more self-confidence when your nose harmonizes with other facial features”), my eye lids [...]
a meditation on sexual conduct
Andrew Harvey was born in India, schooled in England, became the youngest Fellow ever at All Souls College, Oxford University, and is one of the pioneers of what he calls “sacred activism.” He’s spent three decades studying the world’s mystical traditions*, from Buddhism to the Kabbalah. In his book The direct path he lays out “the Path [...]
precepts & intentions
Among its many features, Buddhist practice offers guidance on how to be in relationship with others … including desire and sexual conduct (see yesterday’s post). Therefore, by voluntarily undertaking to live according to the Precepts, my intention is to refrain from …
harming living beings … and instead practicing loving kindness;
taking what belongs to others … and instead practicing [...]
the buddhist precept on sexual conduct
Buddhist precepts are pointers (not laws or commandments) intended to support and deepen practice in everyday life. They’re a source of contemplation and help us to continually awaken to the universal nature of reality called Buddha Nature. I bowed to receive the 16 precepts from Jan Chozen Bays Roshi during a public ceremony called jukai at Great Vow Zen [...]
are monks allowed to?
white teeth smiling.
brightness of skin.
on my seat in the high lama’s row
at the quick edge of my glance
i caught her looking at me.
Tsangyang Gyatso (1683-1706, sixth Dalai Lama) in: Sudo, P.T. (2000). Zen sex: the way of making love. HarperSanFrancisco, p. 41.
acceptance
Be gentle with yourself.
Be kind with yourself.
You may not be perfect, but you are all you’ve got to work with.
The process of becoming who you will be begins first with the total acceptance of who you are.
Bhante Henepola Gunaratana. (1994). Mindfulness in plain English. Boston: Wisdom Publications.
how to live [ethically]
In private conversations and on this blog I’ve made references to the relief of knowing what it means to “live an ethical life.” I say relief because, after decades of personal conduct marked by a self-absorbed drifting along the edge, Zen practice has given me simple guidelines with which to align thoughts and behaviours. What makes these precepts so remarkable [...]
[not so] simple truth
Three of us were standing near the coffee and tea station at hospice, a place anyone mobile sooner or later comes to: patients, visitors, staff, volunteers. During an extra busy evening just recently, two volunteers and I were huddled their, taking a brief time-out between tasks. What a day, one said. Haven’t been this busy [...]
beyond preferences
I’ve talked a few times about getting caught in the duality trap: should I do this or that, prefer these over those, dislike option A over option B, and so on. [See, for instance, my post of May 11.] Buddhist teachings suggest we look beyond such opposites and view both/all as part of a much larger [...]
temporary loss of self-consciousness (monday poem)
A self-described “late bloomer,” American Hayden Carruth (1921-2008) published his first book of poetry when he was 41. This poem “Ecstacy” is from Scrambled eggs and whiskey (© 1996 Copper Canyon Press) which won the National Book Award. Click here for more.
For years it was in sex and I thought
this was the most of it
so brief
a moment
or [...]
