29 November 2008

Delights

So many delights
And distractions

To occupy the waking hours of this mind

And journey through time


It takes discipline indeed

To carry this body upstairs

And lay it down to rest

Sleep



[27 October 08]

Morning Moon

A delicate slender crescent moon
Gently rests on the eastern horizon

Reflecting golden light in the early morning dark

Its beauty all the more poignant

Knowing that it will soon disappear

Consumed by light as the day breaks



[27 October 08]

Morning practice 3

A calm spacious feeling
Nothing to say

Except

A smile

Here I am



[26 October 08]

29 October 2008

Norfolk Photos

In response to 'Postcards'

Such wondrous glimpses

of the transient ever-changing

existence we participate in

the colours

the textures

tears in my eyes




[28 October 08]

21 October 2008

Going upstairs

Trees marching along the ridge
Silhouettes in the intense orange wash

Sunrise



[17 October 08]

Morning practice 2

Burning through 108 times

aches

agitation

boredom

clinging

desires

dreams

dullness

fantasies

feelings

hopes

ideas

memories

resistance

sensations

thoughts

weariness

wishes

worries


cleansed and settled

awake and expansive


a calm smile comes home

to this face



[14 October 08]

Conceit

this idea of me
surrounded by persistent

swirling desires to be


someone useful

someone liked

someone wanted

someone of note


to exist in the eyes and minds of others

to be able to hold myself aloof and separate


the conceit of self



[13 October 08]

Morning Practice

Satisfaction
Wholeness of being

108 times

Each time

For the first time

Home in this body

Eyes open

Palms together



[05 October 08]

Evening out

Returning late from town
Along empty streets

Over the dark river

Through the playing fields

Shrouded in layers of mist


Back home under the milky way

Quiet mind and peaceful heart



[26 September 08
]

12 October 2008

Self-reflective gem

A gem
A multi-faceted gem

In which I can see myself

Reflected multiple times

Distorted and undistorted



[12 October 08]

25 August 2008

Fridge

Wandering thoughts
And shifting imagery

Broken by the sound

Of the fridge waking up

I return to the task



[14 July 08]

Lost

When sitting becomes
An act of will

The way is lost



[14 July 08]

To sleep

August night
I put my book down to sleep

Bat squeaks echo in the dark



[21 August 08]

Bedtime

Climbing the staircase
The moon rising in the east

Breaks through the clouds

And steals my breath away



[19 August 08]

Warm evening

A refreshing cold shower
Eases my mosquito bites


Perspiration continues

To bead on my brow



[28 July 08]

Luminous moon

A luminous moon
Over Callow Hill

Sets the clouds aglow

While the trees

Remain black



[17 July 08]

Ghostly moon

A ghostly moon over
Callow Hill

Illuminates the clouds

And glows through the gaps



[17 July 08]

The moon rises

As the moon rises
And the lawn mower grinds

A small touch of peace

Enters my heart



[13 July 08]

The arising of pain

In the arising of pain
tears linger

close to these eyeballs


In the arising of pain

tension grips

up and down this back


In the arising of pain

sensation anchors

attention in this body


In this moment



[09 July 08]

This body

Pain is a part of
This body of flesh and bones

As much as it is a part of

This body of emotions and feelings


Sitting in awareness

The pain does not depart


Practising being open

Allowing the whole of it

To arise in this space

Where I sit.



[09 July 08]

Beauty burning

mysterious deep blue clouds
linger along the horizon

pale blue sky stretches out above

long jagged rips give way

to the fiery glow

of the sunset beyond



[14 June 08]

Words of an ancient

My legs hurt
The ache of 108 prostrations

Gentle rain trickles

The music of downpipes and gutters

As the words of an ancient

resonate deep inside somewhere

'With clear awareness,

one takes up the responsibility of helping other sentient beings

as if one is sitting in perfect silence.'*



[11 June 08]


*Master Hongzhi quoted on p137 in Illuminating Silence by Master Sheng-yen

To the west

Blue Hills roll across the horizon
Burning the sky

Orange and pink as they go

Silently to the west



[10 June 08]

June Moon 3

There is a crescent moon
in my window

tonight



[07 June 08]

June Moon 2

Lying in bed
The luminous crescent moon

Framed in the middle window



[07 June 08]

June Moon 1

Dusty pink sunset
Indigo hills

Under a bright crescent moon



[07 June 08]

In the tent

bedtime story over
the owl calls echo
Buddha sits
with the ashes of the day


[14 August 08]

Momentarily

three birds fly overhead
the hazy glow of sunset

in the damp muddy evening



[14 August 08]

3 lines

a fallen leaf
appears as an icicle

glistening in the mud



[14 August 08]

Arising

some things need
to be written

right

now



[14 August 08]

18 July 2008

Out in the garden




An unexpected guest

Sits zazen in the glow

Of the setting sun



[13 July 08]

15 July 2008

Hot afternoon

deep in the cool recesses
of the glove compartment

lies a chocolate bar



[13 July 08]

03 June 2008

Together as one

Sometimes we're two
And sometimes we're one

Sometimes he walks ahead

And sometimes he dawdles behind

Sometimes he wants to race

And sometimes he wants to be still

Sometimes he explores far and wide

And sometimes he slips his hand into mine

As we walk together as one.



[25 May 08]

Distance

The distance between our hearts
Seems to fluctuate like the tide

And not depend on the miles

or centimetres

between our bodies

Still, it is a pity you're so far away

And I can't hold you in my arms

right now.



[21 May 08]

03 March 2008

Dark morning

Dark morning under the bright stars
A rustle of a breeze in the trees

Frost crunching underfoot

The sound as I relieve myself joins

The burble of the stream in the valley



[06 Jan 2008]

Missing her

The stars above
a sparkling net
of milky orbs
we could jump into
and be cushioned by
as we fell into
the heavens
together


[05 Jan 2008]

More sawdust!

Christmas lights
in the shed

for a toilet

illuminate

what was left

by the person before



[05 Jan 2008]

Dark Woods

Black spiny silhouettes
Of naked trees in the winter night

Reaching up towards the glowing

Dome of milky stars above



[05 Jan 2008]

With the Stars

Following meditation
A message from afar

Asks me if am I home

I reply that I am not


And yet


Walking back to the tent

Under the milky milky

Stars of the night

Truly I am home



[05 Jan 2008]

In Wales

New Zealand
may be a place

but the milky way

takes me home

to my heart!



[05 Jan 2008]

Nearing

Waterfalls and wet hills
Empty trees and full skies
Driving down the valley
To Throssel Hole Abbey


[19 Nov 2007]

29 February 2008

Awakening

The moon aglow
with early morning light

as wisps of clouds

and birdsong drift

across the lightening sky



[27 Feb 2008]

26 February 2008

back home

early morning moon
over the fence tops

beyond the trees

reflecting the glow

of the rising sun



[25 Feb 2008]

20 February 2008

Market bound

We have so many prisoners
We take so many lives


I send you my blessing

And cry tears of anguish

Deep within my heart


But what can I say?

Knowing the ignorance

And the cruelty of humans

That is also my own



[12 Dec 2007]

Cannot be captured

The beauty
Of the evening

The hazy orange glow

City lights appear

Like a sunset over distant

Rolling curves of hills

And silhouettes of trees

Under the gleaming white pearl

Of the moon suspended

In the deep blue sky

Cannot be captured

By word or photograph



[19 Feb 2008]

17 February 2008

Sunday Morning

Blue sky above
Frost on the ground

The cat over the road

Just sitting in the sunny window



[17 Feb 2008]