Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Different Roads Home


Walk one road and
end up at one place.

Walk a different road and
end up at a different place.

And yet, do we not arrive
back home in the end?

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Illusion


What is inside us
and what is outside us
do not seem to be the same.

Another illusion.

Monday, November 28, 2011

Intersections


Peace and war intersect
at the crossing of difficulty and ease.

Ignorance and wisdom intersect
at the crossing of blindness and sight.

Joy and suffering intersect
at the crossing of heaven and earth.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Seven Gifts


Amity amid conflict.
Grace amid strife.
Patience amid loss.
Serenity amid chaos.
Insight amid suffering.
Generosity amid poverty.
Compassion amid fear.

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Storm


Lightning splits the sky in two
like a yardstick striking a desk.

Thunder tumbles across the city
like children sent out to play.

Runoff courses through gutters
like rumors across a schoolyard.

Child's play in the hands of the Divine.

Friday, November 25, 2011

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Hunger Makes Me Grateful


Hunger makes me grateful
for the food on my plate.

Thirst makes me grateful
for the drink in my cup.

Illness makes me grateful
for every breath I take.

Loneliness makes me grateful
for every friend I meet.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

The Nature of Patience


Patience is like water.
It flows past frustrations
like a river around stones.

True patience has no end.
It can level a mountain
of pain and disappointment.

It wells up from the spring
that nourishes us all and
keeps us steady in this moment.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

You Can Keep Him


Why would a loving God
bring us into this life
without our permission
and expect us to be perfect,
then cast us into eternal hell
after we die if we fail
to live up to His demands?

Doesn't sound very loving to me.

Monday, November 21, 2011

Saturated


A branch floats along a river.
Water soaks into the fibers,
and the wood sinks to the bottom.

Does the branch become the river
because it's saturated with water?

Does the water become a branch
because it saturates the wood?

Does Tao stop being Tao
just because it saturates us?

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Answers and Questions


Which matters more?
The answer to a question,
or the question itself?

Which lasts longer?
The satisfaction of an answer,
or the fascination of a question?

Which rings truer?
The clearest answer,
or the simplest question?

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Seek and Find


When I seek, I find.

What I find is not
always what I seek.

What I seek
is not important.

What I find
is not important.

What matters
is the seeking.

Friday, November 18, 2011

Only the New Lasts


We set a stone to mark
the passing of a loved one
and hope it will last forever.

But even stones
are not permanent.
The old passes away
to make room for the new.

This is the only permanence
the universe offers.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Among Trees


Be present among trees,
and trees will be present in you.

Be mindful among flowers,
and flowers will be mindful of you.

Be aware of birds singing,
and birds will sing your whole life.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Resting Tao, Working Tao


Nothing I do for myself
brings greater comfort
than resting in the Tao.

Nothing I do for others
brings greater pleasure
than working in the Tao.

Monday, November 14, 2011

None


No mystery
is deeper
than Tao.

No question
is broader
than God.

No doubt
is longer
than Compassion.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

The Limit of Imagination


What is the limit of imagination?
What is the border of thought?
What is the boundary of the unknown?

Only the imagination can imagine
a limit to the imagination.

Only thought can think out
the borders of thought.

Only the unknown can know
the boundaries of the unknown.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Simple Sight


Seeing is easy
when I remember
to look at what's right
in front of my eyes.

Friday, November 11, 2011

No Opposite


Light creates darkness.
Sight creates blindness.
Order creates chaos.

Only Tao has no opposite.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Passing Through?


Passing through
this moment
is not possible.

Only being
in this moment
is possible.

Thinking I am
somewhere else
is an illusion.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Easing the Way for All


What makes us think
we have to make others change
to our way of thinking
to protect our way of thinking?

Why do we believe
others have to believe
what we believe
to safeguard what we believe?

We each must follow our own path.
Mutual respect eases the journey
for each of us.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

The Gift of Distractions


What a gift
a distraction can be.

A reminder
of the larger world
and my place in it.

And its place in me.

Monday, November 7, 2011

We Are All


We are all worthy,
but we don't see it.

We are all sacred,
but we don't know it.

We are all divine,
but we don't believe it.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Three Journeys


Climb a mountain
and see across valleys.

Swim a river
and reach new ground.

Listen in stillness
and hear the Divine.

Saturday, November 5, 2011

God Was Once


God was once a man.
God was once a woman.
God was once a snake.
God was once a storm.
God was once a great fish.
God was once a burning bush.
God was once a sacred thought.
God was once a lover.
God was once a star.
God was once a child.
God was once a mystery.
God was once a god.
God was once a terror.
God was once a killer.
God was once an ocean.
God was once a mountaintop.
God was once a door.
God was once an emptiness.
God was once the way.
God was once you and me.
And continues to be.

Friday, November 4, 2011

A Wave of Being


A stalk of grass.
Here today,
gone tomorrow.

Its life seems
as brief as a breeze.
And yet the universe
took billions of years
to bring it into being.

The least I can do
is pay attention
to its waving.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

World at Work


Heavy weather drains
the skies of wind and rain.

Quakes strip the earth
of tension and imbalance.

Volcanoes rob mountains
of deep molten pressure.

Silence relieves the mind
of chatter and distraction.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Listening, Watching, Waiting


Listening for silence
is like listening for God.

Watching for light
is like watching for Grace.

Waiting for wisdom
is like waiting for Tao.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

I Am Never


Asleep or awake,
I am never fully aware.

Warm or cold,
I am never fully at home.

Hungry or filled,
I am never fully satisfied.

Alone or together,
I am never fully known.

Silent or outspoken,
I am never fully heard.

Happy or grieved,
I am never fully lost.