Posts tagged buddhism
Art and Earth
Because earth Without Art is Just "Eh."
3 notes &
Ghost of Earth Future (Poem)
As the water table rises you seep upward
a chilly ghost levitating
fluid limbs spread as the sun heats your body
water pools in finger lakes.
Water-striders wander the four directions of your surface
Etching ripples in their wake
Moss becomes algae, grass-kelp undulates
lotus roots deepen and take hold
You stand on northwest feet, clenching a sapling.
Lotus petals burst through your visage
on your head a grass coronet
as diving beetles plumb your noetic hollows
a broad smile cracks your mud-encrusted face.
Ghost of earth future, risen.
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Ann says: As I pondered a temporal pool on my lawn, I thought of the Buddhist metaphor of humans arising from the mud and blossoming like lotus flowers.
Copyright 2013 by Ann Marcaida
Image: Artist unknown, please contact me if you know!
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The Peace of Wild Things (Poem by Wendell Berry)
When despair grows in me
and I wake in the middle of the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting for their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
Images: 1. Randall David Tipton 2. Michael S. Quinton
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The Traveler’s Guide (Poem by Umar)
We have come that we may go
This is the equation rivers show
All who have come are all who will go
This is the way the travelers know
Matter is an intrusion on consciousness
The fruit, the veil, the dissonance,
Naturally neglectful of simplicity, the oneness
Time born of matter, matter born of time
Consciousness imagines and dreams
The fruit, the veil, the dissonance
We have come that we may go
This is the equation rivers show
All who have come are all who will go
This is the way the travelers know
The universe is an imagined thing
Expanding inside the conscious being
Aware of the balance in blending,
The seduction in veiling, the oneness
Rivers assume the hue of their beds
Banks and fauna; they may slow
They may fall, they may grow white
Rapids riling by bends and stones
Travelers remember, not neglecting
Embracing simplicity, aware of the oneness.
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Copyright 2013 by Umar Hassan.
Image: Andrew Ferez
10 notes &
The Oneness (Poem by Margaret Atwood)
The moment when, after many years
of hard work and a long voyage
you stand in the centre of your room,
house, half-acre, square mile, island, country,
knowing at last how you got there,
and say, I own this,
is the same moment when the trees unloose
their soft arms from around you,
the birds take back their language,
the cliffs fissure and collapse,
the air moves back from you like a wave
and you can’t breathe.
No, they whisper. You own nothing.
You were a visitor, time after time
climbing the hill, planting the flag, proclaiming.
We never belonged to you.
You never found us.
It was always the other way round.
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From The Moment by Margaret Atwood.
Image: Jhon David Avendaño
1 note &
A Fish’s Tale (Poem by Audrey Howitt)
a skewered bit of fish
spoke to me
of its long adventure
in silent reverie
watching the light
careen through bubbles
long left
by plankton’s organizational crimes
as it filtered down
(in otherness)
it danced upon
the upward draft
of these air bubbles
feeling their circumference
bursting upon gill and scale
a rhythmic tambourine
tumbling broadside
and as it ventured its tale
of sun’s dance
i felt my heart
squeeze a bit
a nuanced caress
life against life
as its story now became mine.
Ann says: This shows a very Buddhist concern for the karma of food and eating. Buddhist meal prayers may begin with:” There is much suffering in this food…”
Poem Copyright 2013 by Audrey Howitt.
Images: 1. Mary Jo McConnell 2. Head of Woman With Fish by Jose Miguel Perez Hernandez
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Empathy (Short Story by Richard Thuss)
I.
She was born during that time when parents kept trying to outdo each other by picking a name for their child that no one else had. Whether it was one too many cigarettes made from the leaves of the pot plant growing in the basement, or a blood alcohol level twice the definition of drunk, Sarah and John Beck decided one night to name their first born, Empathy.
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Waves of Life (Poem for the victims of the Connecticut school shootings)
Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there. I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning’s hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there. I did not die.
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Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep by Mary Elizabeth Frye
Ann says: According to the tenets of Buddhism, we are each like a wave arising from the ocean then falling back in.
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Orange Bodhi by Atticus
Orange moon, as you dance upon the lake,
An idea of orange or a reflection of moon
if I reach out a hand, which one can I take.
Clearly, I wonder which of you is fake.
I fear this most, you’ll take off like a balloon,
orange moon, as you dance upon the lake.
Orange moon, I wish to make no grave mistake,
enlightenment or diner, I’ll be eating soon.
If I reach out a hand, which one can I take.
Orange, is that a shimmer or a shake?
I’d reach and scoop you up, if I had a spoon
orange moon, as you dance upon the lake
If you’re not the moon, my heart won’t break
I’ll just think of you as if you were cartoon
If I reach out a hand, which one can I take
Pretend you are an orange for my sake,
Idea or reflection, I’ll look like a Baboon
orange moon, as you dance upon the lake.
If I reach out my hand, which one will I take.
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Copyright 2012 by Dan Collins. Image: Two Gibbons Reaching for the Moon by Ito Kackuchu
2 notes &
Once by Atticus
in still water
opus blossom
Copyright 2012 by Dan Collins. Image: Untitled by Sterling Hundley.
23 notes &
Aung San Suu Kyi, Peaceful Daughter of a Revolution (Essay)
It’s said that one of the most important events of this century will be the merging of Eastern and Western philosophy. Nowhere is the contrast between Eastern and Western thinking more obvious than in Myanmar (Burma). The tale of this Buddhist country’s quest for independence is a curious tale of yang and yin: war and revolution intermingled with religion and peaceful resistance that verges on passivity.
General Aung San, the revolutionary who engineered Myanmar’s independence from British rule, is considered the the father of modern Myanmar. Although he was a non-violent political protestor during his college years, he took up arms at the age of 26 when his peaceful efforts failed. Although Aung San was assassinated in 1947, his country enjoyed a brief period of democracy due to his efforts (1947—1962) until takeover by a military junta.
Aung San’s daughter Aung San Suu Kyi (considered the “mother” of the true Myanmar) entered politics in 1988. Unlike her father (and perhaps due to the manner of his death), Aung San Suu Kyi is a strictly non-violent activist, influenced by Buddhist principles and Gandhi’s teachings. Below she gives an explanation of her philosophy:
On August 26, 1988 Aung San Suu Kyi addressed half a million people at a rally in Rangoon (Myanmar’s capital), calling for democratic government. Her party won the democratic elections that followed, but the military junta refused to allow her to take power. They pursued a violent crackdown against citizens, and Aung San Suu Kyi and was placed under house arrest in 1989.
Aung San Suu Kyi’s non-violence seems to stem from her belief in karma. Violence breeds violence, resulting in an endless cycle of hatred and retribution. It is likely that Aung San Suu Kyi also feels that we are deeply interconnected. Buddhists say that we are like waves rising from the ocean and falling back again. Hence, violence done to one of us is violence done to all of us. Concepts of “us” and “them” are illusory.
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Experiencing the Revolution
Although thousands of peaceful protesters were killed, the military crackdown in Myanmar was barely covered by the world press. This moved filmmaker John Boorman to dramatize the events as seen through the eyes of Laura Bowman, an American doctor caught in Burma during the uprising. His 1995 movie Beyond Rangoon, though fictionalized, may represent one of the best glimpses we have into this tumultuous period in Myanmar’s history.
Beyond Rangoon is a stunning thriller that not only takes my breath away but somehow also conveys the basic tenets of Buddhism, something I would have thought impossible in an action-adventure film. Beyond Rangoon can be viewed in its entirety on YouTube (and is also available on DVD). As I discuss the plot below, I’ve included links to movie excerpts illustrating each section.
Laura Bowman is a young American whose husband and child are murdered, causing her to develop an aversion to blood and abandon her medical practice. Laura travels to Rangoon, Myanmar in hopes of being distracted from her grief, but the vacation is in vain. But as she views a carved statue of the Buddha she muses “I was like a stone.”
By chance Laura meets an English-speaking tour guide, Ko, a former professor who introduces her to his revolutionary friends. When Laura’s passport is stolen she is trapped in the middle of the uprising, although Ko does his best to guide her to safety.
Along the way, Laura sees Aung San Suu Kyi speak, makes peace with the loss of her husband and child, and regains compassion and her ability to practice medicine. She gives her heart and soul to the Myanmar people and their cause. (To see the film’s ending, click here).
One of Aung San Suu Kyi’s most famous speeches is the “Freedom From Fear” speech, which begins:
“It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.”
Indeed, fear is a major theme in Beyond Rangoon. There’s Laura Bowman’s fear of violence and loss, the Junta’s fear of losing power, the desperate fear of the protesters and, most strikingly, the fear in the hearts of the Junta soldiers, many of whom are barely more than children.
In the stunning movie clip below below Laura Bowman (played by Patricia Arquette) watches Aung San Suu Kyi (played by Adelle Lutz) conquer her fear of death. Notice the repeated use of the palm-up Buddhist mudra (hand signal) “No Fear” (above):
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Myanmar Today
The story of Myanmar’s quest for independence brings questions to mind. General Aung San tried a yin (non-violent) approach which failed to bring results. When he took up arms, he catalyzed a revolution which brought about his death but also bought 14 years of democracy for Myanmar.
His daughter, on the other hand, adamently rejects all violence. Aung San Suu Kyi won a Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 but was clearly feared by the ruling Junta and was kept under house arrest from July 1989 until November 13, 2010.
During the later part of the time Aung San Suu Kyi was housebound, the world experienced massive political upheavals, including the 2009 Iranian Green Protests and the beginning of the Arab Spring. These changes were not lost on the ruling Junta, which released Aung San Suu Kyi in late 2010, (along with other political prisoners) and relaxed media restrictions. On November 18 2011, Aung San Suu Kyi was asked by the Junta to re-enter politics. Said President Obama “These are the most important steps toward reform in Burma that we’ve seen in years.”
At last, it appears that Aung San Suu Kyi’s nonviolent yin approach to revolution will bear fruit. But I suspect she knew that all along.
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Copyright 2011 by Ann Marcaida.
Last image courtesy of Magnum Photos. All others stock images from Google Image.
31 notes &
Zen Lepidoptery by Craig Lawson
I listen to the bone-white butterfly
Fluttering through summer, all bright and dry.
There is no sound like it—I do not lie—
And you can hear it too, if you don’t try.
Poem copyright 2011 by Craig Lawson
Image from the Tumblr blog pale-vindictive
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10 notes &
A Story We All Know: The Hero’s Journey (Essay)
There’s a story we all love. It’s been told a million times. It’s in our fiction, like Star Wars and Lord of The Rings. It’s in the myths of Osirus and Prometheus, and in the life stories of Moses, Buddha, and Jesus Christ. It’s also in the stories told about the men and women on Flight 93 on September 11, 2001.
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“The events of September 11th are like a piece of garbage that we must compost to grow flowers.”
(Thich Nhat Hahn, Evening of Peace lecture, Providence, RI, August 16, 2002.)
Photo Credit: Carol at Gather.com
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17 notes &
Thich Nhat Hahn, Christian Buddhist (Essay/Biography)
If the Tibetan Buddha was reborn in the form of the Dalai Lama, I suspect the Mahayana Buddha was reborn in 1926 in the form of Thich Nhat Hanh (pronounced “tick not han”), a soft-spoken Vietnamese monk.
Thich Nhat Hahn is one of the world’s most famous Buddhists, second only to the Dalai Lama, and highly influential in the United States. Many American Buddhist sanghas (meditation groups) use his teachings as guiding principles.
Thich Nhat Hahn (also known as “Thay,” or “teacher”) joined a Zen monastery as a teenager and was ordained as a monk in 1949. In the 1960s he founded a Vietnamese grassroots organization that rebuilt villages, started schools, established clinics, and aided families rendered homeless by the Vietnam War. In 1973 he was exiled from Vietnam for his anti-war protests, and was not allowed back until 2005. Today he is busy re-opening monasteries and nunneries in his native country.
Thich Nhat Hanh combines Buddhist concepts with Western psychology and Christianity. The result is a stunningly modern insight into the core of Buddhism. Because Thay does not limit himself to the minimalist, inner-directed ideas of Zen Buddhism, he is passionately concerned with the needs of others. He coined the term ”Engaged Buddhism” to describe his new form of Buddhist activism.
Thich Nhat Hahn is no stranger to war and brutal violence in his native country, which he meets with unflinching non-violent resistance. During one of his public talks he related a chilling tale from his early days in Vietnam. I’m not sure that he’s ever written this story down, so I’ll tell it to you from my memory*:
The monks and nuns of Thich Nhat Hahn’s grassroots organization lived in a small monastery in South Vietnam. Because of their radical opposition to 
the war, South Vietnamese soldiers became convinced that the clerics were collaborating with North Vietnam. One night South Vietnamese soldiers raided the monastery, killing one monk and one nun.
The next day the horrified monks and nuns calmed themselves and held a public meeting. They announced that they did not hate the soldiers and would not seek revenge, but asked that the killings stop.
The episode was repeated several times, with one monk and one nun killed each time. After each set of killings the monastery made a public appeal for peace. Finally the killings ceased and the soldiers left the monastery alone. Because they were willing to sacrifice their lives rather than resort to violence, the monks and nuns had fought the battle on their own terms and won.
Later Thich Nhat Hahn traveled to the U.S. to urge the government to withdraw from Vietnam. He also met Martin Luther King Jr. and convinced him to publicly oppose the Vietnam War. King nominated Thich Nhat Hanh for the 1967 Nobel Peace Prize, saying:
“I do not personally know of anyone more worthy… than this gentle monk from Vietnam. His ideas for peace, if applied, would build a monument to ecumenism, to world brotherhood, to humanity”.
Thich Nhat Hahn created The Order of Interbeing, an international model of Engaged Buddhism, in 1966. He established monastic centers around the world (his home monastery is in France, but there are also centers in California, New York, Mississippi and elsewhere abroad). These monasteries are open to the public and provide ongoing retreats for lay people. The Order of Interbeing also holds retreats for specific groups such as families, teenagers, politicians, law enforcement officers and people of color.
One of the recuring themes of Thich Nhat Hahn’s teachings is that we must water the good seeds within ourselves and society. An excellent example of this philosophy at work is The Order of Interbeing’s efforts to promote Arab-Israeli peace in a small but potent way:
Every year, a small group of Palestinian Arabs and Israelis are invited to Thich Nhat Hahn’s monastery in France. For the first week, the two groups practice silent meditation in each other’s presence. During the second week, one group speaks while the other listens deeply. During the third week the positions are reversed. By the forth week, the two groups are able to hold mindful and respectful discussions.
After they leave the monastery most of the participants remain lifelong friends, not only with members of their own religion but also with members of the opposing religion. No one knows how to sow the seeds of peace better than Thay.
Much to the surprise of his fellow monks and nuns, Thich Nhat Hahn attends Catholic Mass and takes communion whenever he gets the chance. ”Jesus Christ is one of my spiritual ancestors” he explains. In 1997 he published a book called Living Buddha, Living Christ (excerpt here), which explores the parallels between the teachings of The Buddha and Jesus Christ.
Thich Nhat Hahn has become a potent force in Western Buddhism. His meditation practices and activist teachings appeal to people of different spiritual backgrounds and are compatible with the core ideas of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Most of the people I encounter in American sanghas are not only practicing Buddhists but Christians or Jews as well.
In addition, Thich Nhat Hahn has published over 100 books, more than 40 in English. He continues to be an important presence in the world peace movement, promoting non-violent solutions to conflict. (Click here for a brief Time Magazine interview in which he offers his insights on the conflicts in Buddhist Myanmar (Burma)).
I’ve seen Thich Nhat Hahn speak four times, and the feeling of being in the presence of an enlightened master is astonishing. Thay speaks for as long as three hours, seated cross-legged on the stage in the presence of thousands of people who are so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Each time I leave one of his talks I can feel the incredibly simple solutions to the world’s problems that begin within each of us.
I’ve never met Thich Nhat Hahn in person. If I did, I would ask him my most pressing question about Buddhism:
What is Nirvana? The literal translation of Nirvana is “extinction,” so how does Nirvana differ from death? Below is his answer to my question:
About Thich Nhat Hanh and the Order of Interbeing:
I Am Home (Journal of Mindful Living)
Thich Nhat Hahn’s Monastery Home Pages:
Plum Village (France)
Deer Park Monastery (California)
Blue Cliff Monastery (New York)
*Thich Nhat Hahn, Evening of Peace lecture, Providence, RI, August 16, 2002.
Note: This is a segment of my Living Saints and Bodhisattvas series, first published on Gather.com. You can find links to the other segments here.
Copyright 2011 by Ann Marcaida
