Joss

Third side street to the left

A small house

Death

With trimmed boxwood garden 

             But our knowledge of death is enriched not by the refusal of life.

             It is only the ripe fruit of the here and now, when seized and bitten

             into, that spreads its indescribable flavor in us.

                                                                                         Yours,

                                                                                        R. Maria  [Rilke]

 

Zen Buddhism

It doesn’t

Ring a bell

 

Middle of the night

Sound of fart

Pheasant

So lonely

 

The moon

The stars

I am here

Possession

Death

Extinction 

Flies

I accept

Dead

Flies are hard to catch

Flies are free

Dead

Dead

Flies are free

I’m so glad I came here

Suffering

Takes a lot of energy

Flies are hard to catch

People are separate

Some people are more separate

Than others

Possession is death

Flies are free

And living

Buzz Buzz

The dead do not question

One another

No time for questions

No time for answers

Possession is death

Time not to know

I wish I had been peaceful

Possession

Devoid of all value

Not even a single fly will attend

Upon your death

My hands are clean

If you can’t get worshipped

In this town

You ain’t nothin’

If you can’t get worshipped,

You can always start

Your own religion

Possession is death

Shall be engraved

Upon your heart

You will think of what you love

And that is yourself

Free like flies

I will never look

At a fly

The same way again

I don’t want any

Of that salvation stuff

It’s too hard

Permanent separation

Possession is death

Many moons

Many versts from salvation

I wish I had been peaceful

            ----------

Little bee

Twice today I fished you out

Of the bird bath

With a dead leaf

 

Soup

More than one fly

Waiter

Service here is terrible

I’ll have a little worship

 

Cannibals

Cause of death

Soup bones

Gratitude

Super, natural

 

Soup bones

Cannibals

Soon to be soup bones

The impulse for worship

Waiter

                                           The Way of Common Prayer

 

December 24:         Stars of midnight

                                    Firm in the heavens

                                    The constancy of the sun

                                    Rising

                                    Go forth in peace and light

 

December 25:         Amid shouts of joy

                                    The sound of trumpets

                                    Shake the mountain

                                    All witnesses, all light, all life

                                    All a gift, all renewing

 

December 26:         Heaven—thrown open

                                    Stand firm

                                    In the face of rocks

                                    Another face—

                                    Grace eternal, Love infinite

 

December 27:         Running towards the tomb

                                    Joy to share

                                    This life unseen—joy

                                    Complete

                                    Face unshrouded

I knew

And yet did not believe

The time has passed 

Opposition defines me

I seek out only to harm

I knew

And yet did not believe

The time has passed

We can choke on the ashes

No sacrifice offered

And we could believe

 

Nearness and more freedom

No nearness and more freedom

I remind myself 

My hands are clean

 

Wolfman

Tucked in to a bowl

Soup in his teeth

 

Tunic

All one piece

The stone rolled away

All one peace

 

One mind

Whole hearted

Unity

 

How can I

Plant my weeds?

I need to mail order

The seeds

 

The distance

Between breathing

I’m so glad I came here 

If you can’t breathe

On your own

You’re probably dead

 

A crow dark night

The root

Of all scared crows

Suffering

Conceiving 

The night

A scarecrow

Sees the stars

 

Malignant

Enough

And old

To scare crows

A scared crow

The root

Of all suffering

Conceiving

A scarecrow

Hibutsu

 

Never again

Some things cannot be

Some things are self-evident

If that feels good

It matters not

 

                                                     2024 Toblerone Advent Calendar

                                   
                                                           The very last piece!

कल्पयन् Conceiving

प्रतिकारकम् The antidote

स्केर्क्रो A scarecrow  

 

Sanskrit to English

 

                      First snow angel

                      My prayer

                      Renews

                                 It is the rising moon of the mind...

                                 For the caravan of humanity traveling the road

                                    of existence...

                                 Today I summon the world to Buddhahood

                                                                    --Santideva, The Bodhicaryavatara

Lingering glow of sunset

Among bare treetops

The night above

                                      Crescent moon and polestar

Invoking the 14 Holy Helpers

 

                                                        When at night I go to sleep,

                                                        Fourteen angels watch do keep,

                                                        Two my head are guarding,

                                                        Two my feet are guiding;

                                                        Two upon my right hand,

                                                        Two upon my left hand. 

                                                        Two who warmly cover

                                                        Two who o'er me hover,

                                                        Two to whom 'tis given

                                                        To guide my steps to heaven.

                                                                                --Englebert Humperdinck,                                                                                               

                                                                                         prayer from Hansel and Gretel           

                                    MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR !             

                             May the desires of the Bodhisattvas for the welfare of the world

                  meet with success...like hands protecting the body of the transcendent ways