Addressing a life of luminous doom.
I watch the leaves fall without
condition or agenda.
Joy, happiness, sadness, depression,
and emptiness simply fall away.
No matter what I do.
Life will always find me.
So, each condition I welcome.
It transforms me into
a gem-like essence.
As I welcome my own
authentic shadows.
Then my mind becomes
an empty room.
Settling some of the questions.
​

A cold day.
On my way to the classroom.
In the temples.
The monks are warming themselves.

And between the classroom
and the temples.
A long unbroken line.
See how life flows.

Some dream of fame and fortune.
Chasing the lifestyle of others.
That serves to keep them captive.
Like icy rain on windblown days.
Never reaching anywhere.
Others live in despair.
At least in the accounts of their mind.
And there are others
who follow a path.
But it takes them further and further
away from the waking world.
As for me?
I have coffee, books, ink to write,
a desire to help others.
And Chinese friends
who read books in English.
Beyond this….
Well, there is no ‘beyond this.
There is nothing made in
this world that I desire.

Out of nowhere.
The words come forth.
It is not magic.
It is not superstition.
It is not faith.
It is not insight.
It is innate, and
like the mind, it
is within all of us.
But what are the words?
And what sort of thing
comes here like this?
​

It’s looking at my face.
The reality of life.
Wolf ants and
lotus leaves by the lake.
Both imposters.
Trying to make contact with me.
Exhausted by the
challenge of this absurdity.
I embrace my words
and a good cup of coffee.
Relying less on desire,
and standing by the
pavilions of pleasure.
And more on the next step
on the road to finding the way.

​

I like to think about the days.
As I am falling asleep.
Not the days.
When my life was full of mud.
People drifting in and out.
Few could catch the
threads of sorrow.
But the days of love
and basic instincts.
Smoothed over by
those tender lips.
And I sensed everything we had.
From morning to the nighttime.
​

In my apartment.
I live alone.
Befriended by words.
And the autumn weather.
I do not question this.
Or draw conclusions.
This is an approach
for beginners.

Before the coffee was made.
And my first words on this
teaching day were spoken.

It came to me, a single thought.
Without an explanation.
That the way… is already here.

It is enshrined within us all.
There is no need
to look beyond ourselves.

That is all we hear.
The pain and the suffering.
Bitter rain soaks the
Streets day after day.
I choose to hear the sound
of the singing bowl.
And make my coffee
in the morning.
That is all the
spirituality I need.
​

All directions shine.
If you see flowers everywhere.
Layers and layers of flowers.
More colourful
than rain and clouds.
Always able to melt
the ice along the
cold winter paths.
A brilliance that
is unmatched.
​