Old Word

"Prayer" is an old word
for "interactive universe."

Close Enough to See

Walking
through fog
makes me realize
how much more
there must be
that I can't see.

It's like my
spiritual life.

I can only see
what I am close
enough to see.

Divine Encounters

The first time awes you.
The second time scares you.
The third time absorbs you.

Walls and Vines

Walls are constructed things.
Vines grow where they grow.

One is the work of intention.
One is the work of curiosity.

One is the work of division.
One is the work of opportunity.

Together they show the ways
the universe comes into being.

Already There

What looks like the Way
is not the true way.

What looks like the Path
is not the true path.

The true way doesn't
require a map or compass.

The true path doesn't
require a single step.

You are already there.

True Hell

The only true hell
is believing heaven
is somewhere else
and I have to die
to get there.

Too Much Hunger

Too much hunger
makes people desperate.

When people are desperate,
they become fearful.

When people are full of fear,
they become dangerous.

When people turn deadly,
they put everyone at risk.

If you want to feel safer,
start by relieving hunger.

Worried to Die

Waiting to die
is a disease
of the body.

Wanting to die
is a disease
of the mind.

Worried to die
is a disease
of the spirit.

Traitor

To attack somebody just for
holding a different opinion
makes me a traitor to my heritage.

To claim the security of my nation
requires the torture of my enemies
makes me a traitor to my humanity.

To buy leaders with dark money,
then shift taxes to the struggling
makes me a traitor to my honor.

To send the young and poor to war,
then turn my back when they return
makes me a traitor to my country.

For Sustaining Us

One crop for one field.
Another crop for a different field.
Another crop for a third field.

This is the order of efficiency.

A forest of pines in one patch.
A clearing with ferns in another.
A thicket of briars in a third.

This is the order of wildness.

One is for sustaining us.
The other is also for sustaining us.

Knowing Me

Do trees weep at our ignorance?
Do forests wail at our arrogance?
Do skies cry out at our helplessness?

Knowing us,
what difference would it make?

I should try to listen more.

Less Needed There

Seeds of wisdom thrive
in the spiritual ground
of bleached landscapes,
tangled wildernesses,
and sinuous mountains.

But they struggle in rich soil.
They're less needed there.

We Do Things

We do things for ourselves.
We do things for others.
We do things for strangers.
We do things for enemies.
We do things for no reason.
But we never do things
alone.

Wilderness

Fog and tree skeletons
make one kind of wilderness.

Money and spiritual poverty
make another kind of wilderness.

But the darkest wilderness
is the wilderness we make inside.

Need for Memories

What is my life but memories?
What are memories but dust?

The more deeply I live this moment,
the less need I have for remembering.

Name Without Name

Intimate and vast.
Empty and full.
Nothing and everything.
Within and without.

Name without name.

My Loss

To see Tao
requires no eyes.

To hear Tao
requires no ears.

To follow Tao
requires no travel.

To trust Tao
requires too much.

Teaching Us to Know

Solitude is not possible
without others.

It is their absence
that solitude explores.

When we are alone,
we become different.

This is the person
solitude teaches us to know.

Building

My desire tells me what to build.
My will compels me to build it.

Whether to Grow

A tree doesn't choose its place.
It only chooses whether to grow.

Clifftop View

The mystery of death
is like a clifftop view.

I can stare out in fear
into the fog.

I can turn my back
and walk the other way.

Or I can wander along
the long edge of it.

Which view I choose
changes with the seasons.

Channel and River

The channel turns the river,
but the river carves the channel.

What channel do I follow?
What river carves me?

The channel is my curiosity.
The river is my own will.

Hard to Grasp

When I center my mind on Tao,
yin and yang dissolve into one.

When I focus on the Divine,
black and white turn transparent.

When I meditate on God,
good and evil lose their meaning.

Maybe these are the reasons
I find the center so hard to grasp.

Winter Prayer

Make my legs longer so I can
stand solid on the ground.

Make my head empty so I can
see how much I do not know.

Make my arms wider so I can
cradle the broken-spirited.

Make my spirit wiser so I can
recognize my own path.

My Spiritual Life

My spiritual life doesn't save me
from difficulty and pain.

My spiritual life doesn't hide me
from violence and evil intent.

My spiritual life doesn't protect me
from long falls from grace.

My spiritual life only blesses me
with deeper awareness of what is.

Connections

When I connect to others,
I discover community.

When I connect to myself,
I discover the universe.

When I connect to Tao,
I discover who I am.

Higher Windows

There are always
higher windows
in this winding staircase
I call my spiritual journey.

Those are the lights
I keep climbing toward.

But what about this window
I'm trudging past now?
What about the light it sheds?
Isn't it bright enough already?

It is through making the journey
that I discover I'm already home.

Found Poem

Bridge.
Stillness.
Reflection.

Reflection.
Stillness.
Bridge.

Caressed

Tao carves us
the way a river
shapes a stone.

One caress
after another.

Future Tense

A future
without doors
is a cell.

A future
without walls
is a wilderness.

Empty Chairs

Chairs around a table
are another community
waiting to happen.

We're the ones who have
to decide to sit down
and start the conversation.