Being Nothing, You Are Everything
We live in illusion And the appearance of things. There is a reality. We are that reality. When you understand this, You see that you are nothing. And being nothing, You are everything. That is all. —Kalu Rinpoche
poetry
In The Spirit of Mindfulness
All of us are apprenticed to the same teacher that the religious institutions originally worked with: reality. Reality-insight says . . . master the twenty-four hours. Do it well, without self-pity. It is as hard to get the children herded into the car pool and down the road to the bus as it is to …
The Quitter
When you’re lost in the Wild, and you’re scared as a child, And Death looks you bang in the eye, And you’re sore as a boil, it’s according to Hoyle To cock your revolver and . . . die. But the Code of a Man says: “Fight all you can,” And self-dissolution is barred. In …
You Reading This, Be Ready
“Starting here, what do you want to remember? How sunlight creeps along a shining floor? What scent of old wood hovers, what softened sound from outside fills the air? Will you ever bring a better gift for the world than the breathing respect that you carry wherever you go right now? Are you waiting for …
Call Me by My True Names
This poem by Thich Nhat Hanh embodies the essence of what he calls “interbeing,” the innerconnectedness of all things. From: Peace is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life by Thich Nhat Hanh In Plum Village, where I live in France, we receive many letters from the refugee camps in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, …
Autobiography in Five Short Chapters
By Portia Nelson Chapter I I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in I am lost . . . I am helpless It isn’t my fault. It takes forever to find a way out. Chapter II I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole …
Bamboo
The wind whistles in the bamboo and the bamboo dances. When the wind stops the bamboo grows still. A silver bird flies over the autumn lake. When it has passed, the lake’s surface does not try to hold onto the image of the bird. ~ Dhyana master Huong Hai (1627-1715) translated by Thich Nhat Hanh
Around The Corner
Zen Pencils has a neat comic to go along with this poem by Charles Hanson Towne. Enjoy! Around the corner I have a friend, In this great city that has no end, Yet the days go by and weeks rush on, And before I know it, a year is gone. And I never see my …
The Moon in the Sky
You stop to point at the moon in the sky, but the finger’s blind unless the moon is shining. One moon, one careless finger pointing — are these two things or one? The question is a pointer guiding a novice from ignorance thick as fog. Look deeper. The mystery calls and calls: No moon, no …
Thirsty, I Brew Tea
It’s never been possible to fabricate nature. Why do I look for enlightenment outside? All I know for truth is that there is no action in the heart. Thirsty, I brew tea; tired, I take a nap. Ven. Hye Geun (혜근스님) 1320-1376 From The Korean Way of Tea, p. 58