the poetry zendo: stop making mean people famous

this life.

was built from lincoln logs.

long ago.

no one understands.

time is a sister.

was a brother.

time is a mother.

was a father.

watching the animals for clues.

watching the insects.

looking for meaning.

this incarnation.

is built from building blocks.

colored with crayons.

like a child made it.

getting older.

balder.

seeing ghosts.

talking to the invisible.

whispering.

secrets.

prayers.

omens.

recipes.

hopes.

promises.

admissions.

dreams.

"what are you doing?"

"don't know.

don't care either.

got some poems."

The meaning of life; there's always been a lot of fuss over that.

Seems simple to me - to love and to be loved.

Bam.

Naked heart in solitude, wordless, empty of deeds, devoid of fear, devoid of hatred. Invisible in the garden of the self, invisible to night rain that drops from heaven like monkeys scampering down from the sacred trees. Yes, on the sharp slice of the pine woods the waiting was long and hard. Wind and storm. What dedication just to be still and empty, and fully present. And then the sound of someone walking slowly through the wet twigs and the fallen leaves. Go ahead, say the names of those you love out loud. One at a time. Say them over again.

Maybe it's time we stopped making mean people famous.

That I might awaken to the blessing of knowing my own true nature, and that I might be able to use this knowledge to help others and to help the planet.

Work hard.

Do good things.

Be awesome.

james lee jobe

Koolulam, One Day

This is different. People of different faiths and languages rejoice together.

And it sounds awesome.

Buddha means awareness, the awareness of body and mind that prevents evil from arising in either.

Bodhidharma

But a garden is made of hope, which contributes to its pleasure and its fragility. It cannot be proved nor clutched, nor hurried.

W.S. Merwin

Art isn't anecdote. It's the consciousness we bring to bear on our own lives.

Cheryl Strayed

For all of us there comes a time when oars fail, when there is nothing left to do but surrender to the great unknown.

Noelle Oxenhandler

I suppose the most revolutionary act one can engage in is ... to tell the truth.

Howard Zinn

Buddhist ideas, like any ideas, are true or useful not because of who said them, or how ancient they are, or whether they reflect the intended meaning of a sacred text. They are true to the degree that they correspond to how things are.

Bhikkhu Santi