i

there….
in the wind….

now in the falling

rain….

calling

calling us home…

Namu Amida Butsu

ii

Just as I am,
right now

floating in an ocean of light –
the Great Compassion carries me across,

–  Namu Amida Butsu

iii

” Chanting “Namu Amida Butsu,” which translates as “I entrust myself to the Buddha of Infinite Light and Life,” is not a form of petitionary  prayer or mantra. It is a means of communication between a relative being or consciousness and the Buddha deep within. When I chant, there is the expression of Namu Amida Butsu not only from this side, but also from the side of the Buddha. “ T. UNNO



My mouth,
Amida’s breath.


Namandab,
Namandab,
Namandab.

  

IV

From the West
calling me home

my true self –

V.

Blinded by
passions , I
complain out
loud in
the darkness
of my own

making,

not noticing

the one
guiding
the boat
to the Other

shore, not
hearing
in the light

namu amida butsu



vi.



The Voiceless voice;

she calls out from within,

with these lips

& this breath.
Namu Amida Butsu
Namu Amida Butsu

Astonished
even as I am,

the Buddha
& I are one.

Namu Amida Butsu
Namu Amida Butsu



  

vii.



My blind self
pierced by Amida’s light
illuminated and dissolved
into the great ocean of compassion

into the Oneness of life –
Palms together, embraced

just as I am.
Each step with the Buddha,
my truest self, my Amida self –

the deep flow of the oneness of realty –
all beings one with me,
palms together

and bowing,


“namu amida butsu,”
“namu amida butsu,”

embraced just as I am.

For the Faithful Departed

Do we all holy rites.
Let there be sung Non nobis and Te Deum

-Henry V, 4.viii.115-116

Workmen approved indeed1, from far away
Like Abraham, exiled from the fields of home
But leaving here in their adopted land
Their blessings always, through family and faith

And so we ask Our Lady in several voices -
     Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe
     Notre-Dame de LaSalette
     Our Lady of the Americas -

To welcome Luis and Oscar to God’s Home,
That promised Place of refreshment, light, and peace2


1 2 Timothy 2:15
2 from several Catholic prayers for the departed






Of your kindness pray for the repose
of the souls of Luis Castro and Oscar Rivera

For my wife and kids
Protection

For Donald Trump
Rejection

For my country
Correction

For my voice
Inflection

For peace, for love, for beauty
Resurrection!