Wednesday, May 18, 2022

The Sidewalk

I tried (and failed) to convince my students that it was better to be able to appreciate a sidewalk than to own a yacht. With the sidewalk there is no need to keep it from changing.

Tuesday, May 10, 2022

Where Do I Dwell?



 Where do I dwell?


In anger,

in forgiveness,

in peace,

in privilege,

in emptiness,

in self,

in stories,

in my house,

in love,

in confusion,

in Austin.


How can I be dwelling in so many places?


Where do I not dwell? In all the places where I’ve not been…

and not heard about. And in all those places I’ve rejected.


I wish to dwell in those places as well for they keep me alive

even as I reject them.


Or could I just dwell in mindfulness… and in no place else.


What would that look like?


How would that feel?


Who would be there to greet me? Me?

Friday, May 6, 2022

Being Lazy

We could be lazy, throwing to the wind any aspiration or ambition. We could lie on the beach, close our eyes, and listen to the surf. We could smile at the cactus sprouting new growth and a single blossom. We could watch our disabled squirrel land on the ground so awkwardly. We could watch the sun play hide and go seek with the clouds. We could hold our loved ones, steadily, lazily, without moving, where our breathing becomes one with theirs. We could just sit on a cushion like Buddha and do nothing. We could be lazy and who would notice? Others might be so busy that they wouldn't even see one doing nothing-one simply enjoying the fruits of their simple presence on the Earth.

Wednesday, April 20, 2022

Henry Moore's Mother

I was told the story he represented her with a small head because it was hard for him as a little kid to see her head looking up at her.

Saturday, April 16, 2022

Not knowing...

Not knowing is most intimate (Zen koan). I am always making up stories. What is the story here? Is this a thing that others have seen?

Monday, March 28, 2022

The Red Thread

Why can’t clear-eyed bodhisattvas sever the red thread?

Not even an ocean of silence
and stillness can quench it;
Not even vast emptiness
can exhaust it—
it splashes out over
the whole cosmos, vibrant,
passionate, alive!
——Peg Syverson

Who's in the world?

Xiushan said, "What can you do about the world?" Dizang said, "What do you call the world?"