I don’t worry
​about days of gloom.
​For they will surely come.
​And thinking about
​’this’ and ‘that’.
Is a waste of my time.
It stifles my soul.
Bringing nothing more
than bad weather.
So, I will watch the
autumn geese go by.
Smiling in silence
for such a quiet mind.
​

How heavy is this world?
As heavy as you want it to be.
Things come to you
out of nowhere.
One moment the brightest paths.
The next, brittle pampas grass
as far as the eyes can see.
Nothing stays the same
and everything
transforms, including me.
All I need to know
is that this is the way it is.
Then one day the temple
bell will sound for me.
And I will be ready.

I once longed for
the wilder side of life.
Then life consumed my shadow,
and everything else.
I realised that nothing
satisfies some appetites.
And walking in this universe, alone.
Is not always a bad thing.

Now, each step a bamboo shoot.
Clinging only to the present.
And like this…..
There is nothing to blame.
Nothing to praise.
There are no questions, or answers.
And I am no longer
fooled by my mind.

Do you love being alone best.
Or spending time with
all the vices spent
and spent again?
For me, my soul has
drunk up too much woe.
Too much fading of love,
friendship and opportunity.
So, I will not live a life forlorn.
Or stop the self from advancing.
I will cherish the gray streets
and the bamboo sprouts, equally.
Alone, or not…..
And always with simplicity
and plainness.
I will practice a calming
of the heart, and an
emptiness of form.

Before my eyes.
Truly, there is
nothing missing.
A lotus land around me.
And from time to time
A full moon of wisdom.
With all this.
Surely, I can sit among
the autumn clouds.
Learning the way.

A drop of rain…..
No, much more than that.
Each drop a burning field
or a single truth.
Which will it be?
For me, each drop
a single truth.
The whole world is brief.
And one day my light will dim.
So, I shall make the most
of this rain-drop life.

A willow tree in autumn.
Its leaves will not be missed.
There are too many
worrying about the
bitter winds of winter.
And when it is
my time to leave.
Like dew on a lotus leaf.
I will just vanish.
Then the willow tree
will freeze for good..

It is autumn.
And I am still walking.
Often I pause to savour
the sounds and colours.
That surround these
advancing seasons.
Then, it seems that my
past has passed away.
And my future
has not yet arrived.
The space between
these two delusions –
is the place to be.
Even though it lasts
only for a moment.

There is nothing like walking.
To get the feel of being alone.
It does not matter if
there is no path to follow.
When I walk alone.
I always receive
more than I seek.
Never looking for the truth
outside of myself.
Then every mile or two
is a new spring.

This morning after rain I
went for a walk.
In troubled times,
I often walk, alone.
Relishing the scent
left by autumn rain.
That arouses a
thousand questions.
Each answer mentioning
the possibility of being
free from worry and rage.
And moving on to
another place.
Where the moon
and the sun are reflected,
without distinction.
And I am no longer conscious
of something missed.