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So, I clear
the mind
with an oh and an ah
with my breath,
and then wait
briefly
for some thoughts
to rise up,
and then there
is the new way,
but the Buddha
wants me
to go homeless
and sit under
a tree,
so I don't exactly
follow him,
and my internal girlfriend
thinks I should have
a beer,
but I don't think so,
and then,
on the patio,
I raise up my arms
and then
put them back down.
I woke up today,
realizing
that if I hadn't
gone to psychiatrists,
and studied religion,
and worked hard
for many years
at Zen,
that I probably
would have been
one of those guys
who gets a gun
and shoots a lot of people
and then turns it
on himself
and blows his brains out,
because I think
that I have lived
a hundred lifetimes
before this one
as a victim of torture
and therefore
was pushed to the limit,
but instead of becoming
a suicidal ******-murderer,
I became
some sort of
love, peace and happiness
Bodhisattva,
so instead of criticizing Zen
and psychiatry,
like I usually do,
I'm praising them.
After awhile
while studying Zen,
I began having visions
inside
of past lives,
or so I think
and these visions
are the same kind
of dreams
that I have
if I think back
a few hours ago,
so in this stage
I can get
extremely depressed
because the illusions
that I see
are so horrific,
like torture,
and being murdered,
and having my arms and legs
blown off,
but the cool thing
about this stage,
is that after the depression ends,
I feel much better
and relieved
that it's not happening
now.
What is important
is not the *******,
but the way,
not the rewards
but the trip,
so my journey
was directed
toward something
that we call
enlightenment,
which I thought
was some kind
of head explosion,
but that scared me,
so while I desired
enlightenment,
I also thought
that it probably
would **** me,
so my journey
has been an up and down
kind of trip,
and even at its worst,
I was still here!
So, for breakfast
I had
raw broccoli,
spanish olives,
nuts and berries
and my daily bread
among other things,
so I think
that anything goes
when eating,
except that some food
is poison
and some food
is so good for you,
it is thought,
that you can go
a little crazy
about health food
like that,
so my suggestion
is to eat
what you're hungry for,
and a good way
to find out
is to look
at your belly,
because the belly
knows.
So while
"Gate, Gate,
Paragate,
Parasamgate,
Bodhi,
Svaha!"
is the Great Dharani
and the Radiant Supreme Mantram,
we must also
keep in mind
The Lesser Dharani
of
"Oo Ee
Oo Ah Ah
Ting Tang
Walla Walla Bing Bang"
and also meditate
on the Lesser Mantram
of
"Ohwah
Tagoo
Siam"
and always remember
that us poets
are all enlightened
because we know
the sound
of one hand clapping
because
we always seem
to hear it
when we read aloud
at poetry readings.
There is a quiet way
to work out
our craziness.
It's an inside job.
It can be done
with thought
and other expressions
of mind.
One way
to deal
with the madness
is by writing a poem.
Another way
to deal
with the madness
is by being a poem.
Here it is.
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