Lovely Day in P-town. Bright, sunny no hint to the other 9 months of cloud and drizzle…
Visited Janice and Ed last evening, as it was Caitlins’ 21st birthday. He was delighted to be turning this part of the wheel, and as we sat there his good friends were filtering in.
I must be aging. 21 looks incredibly young to me now. The waves of years advance, retreat, advance, and I am beginning to feel the ebb and flow of time that stretches far past my brief moment here.
It is like shadows, all of it. Dappled sunlight, wind passing through trees.
We came home from the party, and Rowan brought Ian and Isobel over for dinner. Rowan has been friends with Ian since the 1st grade, and has known Isobel since the beginning of middle school which must be almost 5 years now. He introduced them together, and now they are inseparable. It is lovely to see. Everything out side of what is occurring between them is indeed passing shadows. They are transfixed in their here and now. Love, at its primal beginning. The mirror, the reflection.
Rowan, Sofie and I walked them home later on. It was very enjoyable. Sofie now doesn’t always need to have a leash on. She is delighted. I am delighted. We are all delighted. Then there are other dogs of course. The leash comes out. Delight flees. The “other” dog departs. The leash goes away. Delight returns.
The conversation was lively there and back. I am pleased to know that there are thoughtful young people still. I know the complaints that have been saddled on the young since the time of Plato, but really just listen to them. They are full of beauty and aspiration.
A brilliant Sunday to you and yours.
Gwyllm
_____________
The Real Buddha
People perform a vast number of complex practices
hoping to gain spiritual merit as countless as the grains
of sand on the riverbed of the Ganges:
but you are essentially already perfect in every way.
Dont try and augment perfection with meaningless practice.
If its the right occasion to perform them, let practices happen.
When the time has passed, let them stop.
If you are not absolutely sure that mind is the Buddha,
and if you are attached to the ideas of winning merit from spiritual practices, then your thinking is misguided and not in harmony with the Way.
To practice complex spiritual practices is to progress step by step:
but the eternal Buddha is not a Buddha of progressive stages.
Just awaken to the one Mind,
and there is absolutely nothing to be attained.
This is the real Buddha.
– Huang Po
—
The Road To Cold Mountain
People ask for the road to Cold Mountain,
but no road reaches Cold Mountain.
Summer sky-still ice won’t melt.
The sun comes out but gets obscured by mist.
Imitating me, where does that get you?
My mind isn’t like yours.
When your mind is like mine
you can enter here.
– Hanshan
—
You do not need many things
My house is buried in the deepest recess of the forest
Every year, ivy vines grow longer than the year before.
Undisturbed by the affairs of the world I live at ease,
Woodmens singing rarely reaching me through the trees.
While the sun stays in the sky, I mend my torn clothes
And facing the moon, I read holy texts aloud to myself.
Let me drop a word of advice for believers of my faith.
To enjoy lifes immensity, you do not need many things.
– Ryokan
