Difficulty

Difficult passages are always ahead. 
Even the rich and lovely are not immune.

Do what each moment calls for,
and even the difficult cannot last.

Skeletons

Bare limbs in winter.
Skeletons of clouds.

Dreams all night.
Skeletons of Tao.

What a Stream Brings

An eddy in a stream
traps fallen leaves.

Minnows hide underneath.
Bass haunt the edges.

The fish draw the anglers.
The anglers draw the shops.

Commerce builds a community.
The stream changes course.

Reach Across

When I cultivate a friendship
with someone who is not like me,
both of us grow richer.

A Mystic Hears

A mystic hears a voice.
Who whispers in her ear?

A sage listens deep inside.
What wells up from within?

A baby stares unblinking.
What holds its attention so?

The World Described

Words are tools of thought.

We use them to explain
the world to ourselves.

The world we describe inside
creates the world we see outside.

This is why words matter.

Mossy Path

A moss-covered path
is still a path,
a way through the forest.

Well-worn paths
lead to places where
people want to go,
but don't want to stay.

Four Walls

The first keeps us
from seeing our flaws.

The next keeps us
from seeing our merits.

The next keeps us
from seeing each other.

The last keeps us
from seeing ourselves.

Blind Light

To be struck blind
on a spiritual road
is nothing new.

It happens all the time.

The arresting thing
is how much light hides
in that temporary darkness.

Stop Looking

I am a knot of perceptions
traveling through time and space,
and yet every moment contains
more than I could ever take in.

When I stop looking, I see this.

Below

What is surface?
What is depth?

First we learn
to see the surface.

Then we learn
to seek what lies

below.

Finding Faces

We are a communal species.
We see faces even
where there aren't any.