Spring sans loyalty

Shall I let her in,
Spring that enters sans loyalty?
Ha, the door's open.

Riding the Bus

I rode the bus yesterday. It was a route I had not taken before. I like the selflessness that is available in riding public transport - being anonymous as one of many such others and being present to the experience. I find the "suchness" of experience that Buddhists talk about. At the same time I see the suffering of others that seems obvious: mothers yelling at children, swearing at them, belittling teenage daughters - "If you wouldn't have opened your god damned legs you wouldn't have this baby would you?"

How to be present to this suffering without judgement? As Jack from our Southcoast Zen Meditation Group says, simply being in the conscious state of awareness is the best gift to those around you who may not be in that state.

Sayings of Jewish Buddhists

I got these off http://mostboringblogever.blogspot.com

If there is no self, whose arthritis is this?

Wherever you go, there you are. Your luggage is another story.

There is no escaping karma. In a previous life, you never called, you never wrote, you never visited. And whose fault was that?

Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. Forget this and attaining Enlightenment will be the least of your problems.

Be aware of your body. Be aware of your perceptions. Keep in mind that not every physical sensation is a symptom of a terminal illness.

The Torah says, Love your neighbor As yourself. The Buddha says, There is no self. So, maybe we're off the hook.

Haiku Master

No oil to read by?
Off I am to bed - Ah,
Moonlit Pillow!

- Bassho, 1644-1694

Lost my Roles

No not rolls, roles. Ram Dass in "Still Here" writes of the loss of meaning that often occurs in one's life as we age and loss our common roles - father, son, worker. I am experiencing just this, having lost both my parents and with both my children moving from home over the past two years. It's a hard transition I can tell you, some confusion, some depression, some anxiety. Dass writes that, "The sooner we begin cultivating a mind that can work with heavy mental states as meaninglessness and depression, the better able we will be, later on, to escape them" Being present is the key once again.

Uncaused Happiness
Uncaused happiness,
Snow-caused beauty tears; the same.
Both now, one present.


This haiku was inspired by a dharma-discussion at Southcoast Meditation Group

Not my heart today

Curled like the cat,
warm by virtue of release;
not my heart today.