"sangha" poems
At a Zen temple
I chanted
and blended in
with the Sangha
as though
we were all one being
with one voice,
so another time
I decided
to stand out
as an individual
and chant in my own way,
and then another time
I couldn't keep up
with the group singing
and was kind of
left out of it,
so the world is
one world
with one heart
and one love
as I just read
in another poem,
but this brings up
love and fear
as some think
about the human family
while others think about
One World Government,
and some think
about imagining one world
at peace
while others think about
Business Globalization,
so I think
this is life
and we should embrace
whatever comes
because whatever
will come
and I try
to approach
this one world
with fearlessness
and equanimity.
Nov 14, 2011
Nov 14, 2011 at 6:24 AM UTC
Hey Father Death, I'm flying home
Hey poor man, you're all alone
Hey old daddy, I know where I'm going
Father Death, Don't cry any more
Mama's there, underneath the floor
Brother Death, please mind the store
Old Aunty Death Don't hide your bones
Old Uncle Death I hear your groans
O Sister Death how sweet your moans
O Children Deaths go breathe your breaths
Sobbing breasts'll ease your Deaths
Pain is gone, tears take the rest
Genius Death your art is done
Lover Death your body's gone
Father Death I'm coming home
Guru Death your words are true
Teacher Death I do thank you
For inspiring me to sing this Blues
Buddha Death, I wake with you
Dharma Death, your mind is new
Sangha Death, we'll work it through
Suffering is what was born
Ignorance made me forlorn
Tearful truths I cannot scorn
Father Breath once more farewell
Birth you gave was no thing ill
My heart is still, as time will tell.
July 8, 1976 (Over Lake Michigan)
3.5k
Green candle on the altar
for the Buddha, Dharma, Sangha
Flickering the fire shines
golden light rays on brown table
Candle glows bought at hardware store
and on sale! so that's life
May 19, 2010
May 19, 2010 at 11:24 PM UTC
Gently close the door before
Running away from the sangha of the gongs,
Running to the sangha of the forest.
Dualities, so extreme,
Oneness, so infinite.
I step more patiently now,
With the same wonder,
But with increased senses.
The senses feast on stimuli.
The senses fast on deprivation.
Yes the green is greener.
I return to the chakras,
The protection of the fox,
The fuzzy comfort of soft things.
To hear music, to bake bread,
To feel touch.
Now our distance is greater,
And it creates closeness.
Now the sadness of spaces
Creates refreshed longing.
I smile at the mystical and curious
May Apple Retreats.
The Big Tree, the threshold.
The portal, welcomes me,
Shelters me.
Practices breathing fully,
Proclaiming:
“LIVE LIFE,
LIVE LIFE”
May 5, 2015
May 5, 2015 at 3:44 PM UTC
When I was really suffering
and I mean really suffering
I was lying in bed
like Brian Wilson
watching Pat ******* Robertson
and the ******* PTL Club
asking for help
from Jesus and God
and Buddha and Dharma
and Sangha and Shiva
and every other ******* god
or whatever there was or is
and they all
just made things worse
so do you know
what got me through it all
no, it wasn't the psychiatrists
or mom or dad
or brother or sister
or friends
or any of the above
all I had
to get me through
this ******* torture
was
cigarettes
yes
my holy smokes
and now
tobacco is an endangered species
but I'm ready
with my pipe
and a lifetime supply
of tobacco
so bring on
the cigarette enemies
because I think
I'll have a smoke -
Ahhh.
Jan 27, 2012
Jan 27, 2012 at 7:40 PM UTC
I am from incense
From water and candles
I am from the three prostrations
needed to enter the baai san (prayer room).
(cold, smooth, watchful tapestries)
I am from the pecan shells, the tree whose nuts
and leaves left small hills of muddy layers
I'm from ginger to contacts
From Ly to Tran
I'm from the headstrong
and the never-wrong
From mou jung! (useless)
and hou gaawi! (how obedient)
I'm from Nama Amituofo with Cha Lua
and Taking Refuge in the Gurus,
Buddha,
Dharma,
and Sangha
I’m from Sugar Land and Bellaire,
2% milk and Pork Sung sandwiches.
From Dad forcing my brother to stare at green
to fight our genetic astigmatism
to Mom making us chant mantras
with rosary beads on the way to school
In the neighborhood pool,
I pushed away floating junebugs
I am those moments—
Chalk on the cul-de-sac
Oct 9, 2021
Oct 9, 2021 at 6:07 PM UTC
So at the bookstore
I talked to people
and realized later
that they were all there
for me
and that I was there
for them
and it filled me
with a great mind liberation
and a great love
so then
I realized
that everyone
is here for me
and that I am here
for everyone
who is here
and that's everyone
so I also realized
that evil people
are here
to test me
and that people
who just pass through
are here for me
and that people
who try to sell me stuff
are here for me,
so this
is my Sangha,
my family,
the one's I care about -
us.
Aug 31, 2012
Aug 31, 2012 at 2:03 AM UTC
i'm full of inspiration for whatever reason.
And i feel like writing prose.
But my sentences keep getting shorter
and my thoughts keep getting longer
but they can't seem to string themselves together.
It's early evening in the mountains somewhere
and i don't know where,
but i'm sure you're there.
thinking something wise,
being everything you are
with everything you've got.
i think i miss you.
but i'm not sure
and i don't know how.
because i don't even know you.
maybe because when i look in the mirror,
i see you.
i know this is about more than just me,
but the sangha insists i tell my story:
I was just a little girl when I realized
that, truth be told,
we're more than just bodies.
we're bigger, we're wiser
it's all so much more surreal.
To suggest
that all I know is what I've lived,
it seems ridiculous.
I feel older.
It shouldn't be a surprise
that of all these years,
a peace has been made
that people are starting to tap into.
Finally, I've found my beliefs;
and it's peaceful.
Jul 17, 2012
Jul 17, 2012 at 11:07 AM UTC
falling blossoms
at the master’s feet
the sangha
Mar 14, 2016
Mar 14, 2016 at 5:51 AM UTC
Nirvana you want
As God's grant
O those faces
Of relieved 'pupils'
After heavy days
Of an exam
Their minds not jammed
O have your thoughts crammed!
Buddha saw four sights
That caused him plight
Luxuries of palace
Couldn't prevent him
He took his flight
Into a world of light
Unknown as you might
In search of ultimate truth
Of this world's delight!
He was changed
Will you?
He formed a sangha
Oh not him
His pupils
So as we might
Remember something
From our book
Its heights!
Let's read and
Learn something
From around us
Let's form a sangha
For doing this
In this light!
Reading this
Caused you much plight
Like a plant afflicted
With blight?
I know it,right?
Mar 8, 2018
Mar 8, 2018 at 6:33 AM UTC
Drops
"Drops have inferior time to live
But they don't conk hope and willing to give"
"Let your memoir lightly dance
on the edges of time"
"Every drop of water is benison master
Ringing chime "
"Drops fall on leaf it gleam
Elect best spot where thou can dream "
"Brisk dew drop freshen core and soul"
"Where two drops of water unite
befit team attain goal"
✍Written by Rishamjot k Sangha
Oct 26, 2017
Oct 26, 2017 at 9:36 PM UTC
Sangha saccus scroll scribbles say
Laboratory labourisms leakances legitimatize lavatory
Another actuality altered although abominable
Newsworthy notifications never naturalize, normalize
Dangling doomed decay depressed duressed
Entrepreneurial endeavors erased encased, evapotranspiration
Reason reserved, ridiculousness returned, ritualization
Mar 30, 2018
Mar 30, 2018 at 4:12 PM UTC