Thursday, July 16, 2009

Five Poems -- 7/16/09

Five Poems - 7/16/09
Inspired by Dharma, Mindfulness, NVC, and Yoga


Yesterday and Today
(*)

Yesterday,
Feeling fear and anger,
losing consciousness,
panicking out of habit,
running away in aversion,
disconnect, escape.

Today,
Hoping to acquire
the courage and skill
to stay engaged
through the practice of cultivated allowing:
patience, gratitude, forgiveness,
surrender, faith, and best intention for all,
compassion, repentance, equanimity,
generosity, and love.

I promise to practice this each day.

Empathy for the Deer.

Empathy for the deer, lying dead by the side of the road.
Empathy for  the lamb, white fur turned crimson.
Empathy for the innocent child.

Also,
Empathy for the man who slaughters
Empathy for the man who rapes,
Empathy for the carnivore,
     who by choice and not necessity,
     consumes the flesh and blood the innocent.
Empathy for the man who destroys nations or races.

Empathy for the victims of bombs.
Empathy also for the bomb makers.

Empathy for the Out-caste.
Empathy also for the person who spits on the Untouchable.

Empathy is connecting on the heart-level to the other
it's honestly wishing for the other's well-being.

Empathy for friends,
Empathy for family,
Empathy for those unknown.
Empathy for those whom have hurt.

It's not truly compassion
if anyone is excluded.

Outcast

I am the Outcast.
I am the hated one, the wretched one.
Despised, rejected.
Abandoned, betrayed, censored, banished.

My greatest challenge
is to find compassion for myself.
When so few people seem to offer it to me.

To cure my great suffering,
I know I must
embrace the the most despicable.
I must love the dirty, the sick, the smelly,
and the ones of greatest sin.

And if I can find compassion for the wretched,
Perhaps others will see it is possible.

If I can find compassion for myself,
Perhaps other will see it is possible.

I am that (I am)

May my life be an example
of living this practice
of universal compassion.


Reflection

Reflection is something spoken.
Reflection is something seen.
Reflection is something done.
Reflection is seeing the self in the other.
Reflection is the image in the mirror.
Ego is Narcissus looking into the reflecting pool.
Reflection is an inward-turning.
Reflection is an insight.
Refection is everywhere,
in every moment,
in every event.

Wisdom is there
in finding it.


Delusion American Style
(The answer is in stillness)

Note to self:

Most of my life
has been characterized by
blindness+confusion.

This is what I have been taught
ignorance+delusion.

Ladled into my brain
by my culture:

If I regurgitate the lies,
I get an A -- I advance,
more girls, more stuff,
more fame, fortune, power.

These afflictions --
(incorrect vision,
infatuation with "the story",
infatuation with the rational mind)
cause the manufacture
of further emotional poisons:
Fear and anger,
jealousy and hatred.

These poison emotions
lead to unskillful action and unconsciousness:
Resistance, clinging, and aversion.
Attachment, greed, craving.

This pattern is the source of all
violence, suffering, and sickness.

In this, I know I am not alone.

While these are afflictions
of the cognitive mind,
I now can see clearly, ironically,
the answer is not to be found by the intellect.

You can't figure this one out
with thoughts.

The answer is in stillness:
Mindfulness and Insight.
Present moment awareness
HERE / NOW
I AM.
Sensing, feeling, thinking, being, doing.

The answer is in the breath:
just sit and watch it!

The answer is in the body.
Scan it, feel it, sense it, experience it.
Spend time in the body.
Develop a rich vocabulary
of Emotions and Sensations.

Feed it good things.
Treasure your vehicle!
Dance, stretch, and do postures!

The answer is in compassion and happiness!
Honestly wishing for another's well-being.

Much suffering can be alleviated
through simple mindfulness practice.
Practice leads to acquired skill.
Skill leads to happiness!
Happiness is Heaven!

I know I can cultivate these like a garden,
and since it seems possible to
alleviate the suffering of just one person (....me!)
it seems I am morally bound to practice.

And with loving attention,
to my garden practice,
I have faith these fruits will grow:

Correct vision,
clear-seeing,
completeness and union,
freedom from false notions and ignorance.

In this, I know I am not alone.



--
Bill Huston                    WilliamAHuston@gmail.com
Binghamton NY
Phone: 607-321-7846

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