Friday, July 31, 2015

If There Is a Devil


Everything that
fear tells me to do
drives me deeper
into fear.

If there is a devil,
fear is it.


Thursday, July 30, 2015

Fear Masks


Fear is hatred.
Fear is injustice.
Fear is greed.

Fear is violence.
Fear is intolerance.
Fear is isolation.

Fear is depression.
Fear is terror.
Fear is worry.

Fear is arrogance.
Fear is pride.
Fear is distrust.

Fear is unmasked
by compassion.


Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Marks


We mark
our presence
in the world
not for others
but for ourselves.

Time rubs out
every trace,
but we don't care.

Time can't
rub out this
moment
now.


Tuesday, July 28, 2015

The Cost of Not Loving


Where does fear come from?

From the fear of dying?
From the fear of not lasting?
From the fear of not mattering?

Fear comes from none of these. 
Fear comes from not loving.


Monday, July 27, 2015

Diverse Worlds


Without diversity,
there is only one
color of flower.

Without diversity,
there is only one
species of tree.

With diversity,
there is struggle
and compromise.

Which world
would you rather
call home?


Sunday, July 26, 2015

Half a Life


Living a short life is both
a blessing and a curse.

Living a long life is both
a blessing and a curse.

Living half a life is neither.


Saturday, July 25, 2015

If Living


If living among fear,
sow compassion.

If living in fear,
seek compassion.


Friday, July 24, 2015

How Strange


Molten upheaval below.
Heavy weather above.
These made the earth I know.

Painful turmoil within.
Difficult passages without.
These made the life I know.

How strange to find light
in such rough places.


Thursday, July 23, 2015

Water Ways


Floods drain away.
Droughts end in rain.
Nothing stays the same.

Every cloud is a cloud.
Every mountain is a mountain.
Different but the same.

The river of time flows on.
The ocean of Tao receives all.


Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Five Hard Stones


One stone is for striking an enemy.
One stone is for bracing a wall.
One stone is for blocking a bridge.
One stone is for breaking a spirit.
One stone is for trying to kill fear.


Tuesday, July 21, 2015

How Good


If heaven is
my real reason
for being good,
how good am I?

Better to leave
heaven to the gods
and try love instead.


Monday, July 20, 2015

Four Mysteries


Life is a mystery
to the mind.

Death is a mystery
to the heart.

Tao is a mystery
to the body.

Self is a mystery
to the spirit.


Sunday, July 19, 2015

Stable


The best way to create
a stable life tomorrow
is to live a stable life today.

Every day was once
the tomorrow of yesterday.


Saturday, July 18, 2015

Sleeper


To see only the flower
and not the stem
is to see with closed eyes.


Friday, July 17, 2015

Deficient Attention


Beauty doesn't have to
call attention to itself.

Arrogance and fear do.


Thursday, July 16, 2015

Time for Ignorance


Sometimes, I have to stop
and take time to be ignorant.

To know that I don't know
is a gift, not a burden.

The more bewildered I feel,
the clearer the sky becomes.


Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Its Own Life


Don't fear tomorrow.
Every choice has its own life.

Good or not so good,
Tao can be found in every one.


Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Standing Against


If I take a stand with God
against the whole world,
I'm not taking a stand with God.

If I defend a holy place
against the whole world,
it ceases to be a holy place.

Standing against the world
is guarding an island of fear.

God stands against no one.


Monday, July 13, 2015

Field Work


Love and fear grow up
together inside us like
fields of wheat and weeds.

Figuring out which is which
is the labor of a lifetime.


Sunday, July 12, 2015

Hell Healer


Heaven isn't
in the heavens.

Heaven is in the heart.
Heaven is in the mind.
Heaven is in the soul.
Heaven is in the spirit.

Heaven is in the pain.
Heaven is in the suffering. 
Heaven is in the disaster.
Heaven is in the violent act.

It goes there to heal the hell.


Saturday, July 11, 2015

Decision Point


When I come to the edge of a stream,
I have to make a decision.

Do I wade out into the current?
Do I turn and walk along the shore?
Do I turn back and retrace my steps?
Do I just stop and sit down?

It's impossible not to decide.

When I reach the edge of myself,
there's only one decision to make.

Do I let go, or not?


Friday, July 10, 2015

Found


Am I lost because
I can't find my way?

Or am I lost because
I can't find myself?

Or am I lost because
I can't find Tao?

What Tao has found
can never be lost.


Thursday, July 9, 2015

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Daily Reminders


Dawn reminds me
of what I do not know.

Dusk reminds me
of what I cannot know.

Day and night remind me
of what I do not want to know.


Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Storm Warning


Faith can make storm clouds
evaporate into a clear blue sky,
but it can't stop the floods
their rains bring anyway.


Monday, July 6, 2015

Inside Job


Lasting change
can only arise
from within.

All other change
is temporary.


Sunday, July 5, 2015

Where Is Heaven


Heaven is never a place.

It lives in those who trust
their path to Tao.


Saturday, July 4, 2015

Listening for It


Music comes from
the things around us.
We think we invent it,
but it's really a gift.

This is another reason
listening is important.


Friday, July 3, 2015

No Distance


The distance between
heaven and earth
is no distance at all.

Only our fear keeps us
from seeing this.


Thursday, July 2, 2015

Terrible Student


Religion taught me about God,
but it was a very small God.

Faith taught me about God,
but it was an invisible God.

Experience taught me about God,
but it was a personal God.

I finally figured out that only God
can teach me about God.


Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Like Nothing


Happiness is like weather.
It comes and goes.

Joy is like the ocean.
It takes into itself all it receives.

Tao is like nothing.
It never arrives nor departs.