The Maples of Autumn

Fall Gold by Lisa Ernst

Fall Gold by Lisa Ernst

My legacy —
What will it be?
Flowers in spring,
The cuckoo in summer,
And the crimson maples
Of autumn…

~Ryokan

A Lightning Flash Or A Dewdrop

straightstrikeTo what shall I compare this life of ours?
Even before I can say
it is like a lightning flash or a dewdrop
it is no more.

– Sengai

Last of The Light

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The door of the heart opens slowly

then opens wide

into a warm summer night.

Last of the light as fireflies blink

and cicadas pulse the air

with all their might,

sink into my bones

shake me up,

show me who I am.

Living and dying each moment

in silence and sound

twilight passes,

night settles in.

 

 

The Nature of Mind

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“I came to realize clearly that mind is no other than mountains and rivers and the great wide Earth, the sun and the moon and the stars.”
~~ Eihei Dogen

This Very Place

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How boundless the cleared sky of Samadhi!
How transparent the perfect moonlight of the Fourfold Wisdom!

At this moment what more need we seek?
As the Truth eternally reveals itself,
This very place is the Lotus Land of Purity,
This very body is the Body of the Buddha.

– Song of Meditation, Hakuin Ekaku Zenji

 

 

Wind and Clouds

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The wind traverses the vast sky,

clouds emerge from the mountains;

Feelings of enlightenment and things of the world

are of no concern at all.

~ Zen Master Keizan Jõkin

Gratitudue Overcomes Me

 

A Shroud of Mist by Lisa Ernst

A Shroud of Mist
by Lisa Ernst

Whatever it is, I cannot understand it
Although gratitude stubbornly overcomes me
Until I am reduced to tears.
– Saigyo