Enigma

The more we learn,
the less we realize we know.

Evaporation

Fear courses through us
like a torrent and pours out
cruelty, hate, and greed.

But even rivers of fear evaporate
in the heat of compassion.

Reminder

Every flower is a reminder
there is still beauty in the world.

Claims

To discover Tao
in a piece of cake,
is this blasphemy?

To recognize Tao
in deeper shadows,
is this not to be expected?

To carry on with Tao
in the closet of my mind,
is this a forbidden thing?

No one can lock up Tao
and then claim to have Tao.

The God Meeting

Jehovah
and Yahweh
and Allah
and Zeus
and Baal
and Buddha
and Sophia
and Jove
and Jesus
and Mary
and Tao
and Krishna
and Holy Ghost
and Hera
and Brahman
and Zen
and Adam
and Eve 
and Satan
all got together
to decide who
was really God.

They looked
around the table,
and a smile rippled
from face to face
as they realized
they were all
One.

Thirsty Enough

If you're thirsty enough,
no rocky shore can keep you
from the water's edge.

Builders

We build with beams.
Spiders build with thread.

It isn't what you build with.
It's what you do with what you build.

Skin Tight

The north side of a tree
grows a northern face.

The south side of the tree
grows a southern face.

Both looking in opposite directions.
Both skin tight on the same trunk.

Waking the Dead

What words
can enlighten
those who don't want
to be enlightened?

Just do your work
and seek to ride
in the center of Tao.

It's silence,
not speeches,
that wakes
the dead.

Left Behind

It is one thing
to climb a mountain.

It's something more
to leave steps for those
who will come after.

Simple

Every house begins
with a set of blueprints.

Living a simple life begins
by imagining a simple life.

What we start in our minds
we can finish in community.

Simple Sunset

Something as simple as
a sunset has the power
to stop even the roughest
of us and make us look.

Another tie that binds us
in spite of ourselves.

More Precious Than Children

When our weapons
become more precious
than our children,
what is it we think
we're trying to protect?

What Value?

If money and wealth
are your safe havens,
what value are flowers?

If flowers only matter
on a balance sheet,
what value is wealth?

Undefeatable

Every cruel act
creates an enemy.

That enemy is
called compassion.

It is the one enemy
cruelty can never defeat.

Rain Dance

The rains fall hard in the spring,
but the flowers keep blooming.

What is it about stormy weather
that makes everything want to dance?

No Boundary

No boundary is too wide to bridge,
as long as both sides want a bridge.

Muddy Mind

Just as a muddy river
swells after a storm,
my life turns murky
with every passing crisis.

Then the rains stop.
The flood waters recede.
The current slows.
And my mind clears once again.

Between These Two

Serenity
doesn't come
from outside.

Inferiority
doesn't come
from inside.

Enlightenment
walks a path
between these two.

Communion

Generation after generation,
we learn to feed ourselves.

It is communal work.
This is why every meal
is its own communion.

Deeper Wounds

When the chasm
that separates
rich and poor
splits so wide
that neither side
can see the other,
both are left in turmoil.

For one side,
it's an external struggle
just to stay alive.

For the other,
it's an internal struggle
with always wanting more.

Internal struggles
leave deeper wounds.

Where Children Learn Fear

Children learn fear
from those around them.

Adults who live in fear
raise adults who live in fear.

Fear thrives in isolated lives.
Community hacks it at the roots.

Hole

Sometimes
a hole in the roof
is the only way
light can get in.

Seven Deaths

First is the death of innocence.
Second is the death of trust.
Third is the death of guilt.
Fourth is the death of doubt.
Fifth is the death of fear.
Sixth is the death of hatred.
Seventh is the death of self.

What a Lesson to Teach

More weapons make
our children safe?

I don't think so.

Together

A divided house
is not a home.

A split mind
is not a comfort.

A partisan land
is not a nation.

Work together.
Think as one.
Give more.

Warm Hearts

Feed one who is hungry,
and you feed two souls.

Warm one who is cold,
and you warm two hearts.

One Glance

What is hide?
What is stone?
What is bark?

One glance
will tell you
they're all
the same.

Pears

If the universe
has no Source,
no Creative urge
behind it, then
why are there pears?

Same Ground

All branches return to the same root.
All paths return to the same Ground.

Whatever begins has an end.
What doesn't does not.

The beginning of all beginnings.
The end of all ends.