2.

Fear is ignorant of the self and life, and thus becomes death unto itself, and so shall those with courage never depart.

1.

A man searches for a spider to try destroy it, but it moves too quickly. He gives in and releases it. And without compassion acts. This is the action that retains us in this life, this is an action that holds us back.

Light of the lamp...

I read a story today that touched me and brought a tear to my eye (the left eye, the right one was still fairly dry)... It was an excerpt from "The Tibetan book of living and dying" by Sogyal Rinpoche, an excellent read actually, and it involves Buddha (who I'm convinced became the tulkus Jesus... hmmm, I hope there are no christians reading this).

At the time of Buddha, there lived an old beggar woman called "Relying on Joy". She used to watch the kings, princes, and people making offerings to Buddha and his disciples, and there was nothing she would have liked more than to be able to do the same. So she went out begging, but at the end of the whole day all she had was one small coin. She took it to the oil merchant to try to buy some oil. He told her that she could not possibly buy anything with so little. But when he heard that she wanted it to make an offering to Buddha, he took pity on her and gave her the oil she wanted. She took it to the monastery, where she lit a lamp. She placed it before Buddha, and made this wish: "I have nothing to offer but this tiny lamp. But through this offering, in the future may I be blessed with the lamp of wisdom. May I free all beings from their darkness. May I purify all their obscurations, and lead them to enlightenment".
That night the oil in all the other lamps went out. But the beggar woman's lamp was still burning at dawn, when Buddha's disciple Maudgalyayana came to collect all the lamps. When he saw that one was still alight, full of oil and with a new wick, he thought, "There's no reason why this lamp should still be burning in the daytime", and he tried to blow it out. But it kept on burning. He tried to snuff it out with his fingers, but it stayed alight. He tried to smother it with his robe, but it still burned on. The Buddha had been watching all along, and said, "Maudgalyayana, do you want to put out that lamp? You cannot. You could not even move it, let alone put it out. If you were to pour the water from all the oceans over this lamp, it still wouldn't go out. The water in all the rivers and lakes of the world could not extinguish it. Why not? Because this lamp was offered with devotion, and with purity of heart and mind. And that motivation has made it of tremendous benefit". When Buddha had said this, the beggar woman approached him, and he made a prophecy that in the future she would become a perfect buddha, called "Light of the Lamp".

Whatever joy there is in this world

All comes from desiring others to be happy,

And whatever suffering there is in this world

All comes from desiring myself to be happy.

fire

the figures abound,

towards a sound,

spirits soul cannot be found,

flesh imbodied prisons

our love surrounds,

caress the gentle nature,

of skies in spring

nature brings,

whole and taken,

these seasons to all,

nothing left,

but us in all,

returned unto existence,

a featureless mold.

how many?

the m

I found the thought I could not catch,
I swam the depths I deeper swam,
the sea unlocked itself to me,
this greater depth a mystery,
under the ocean sound so deep,
my spirit revealed its secret to me,
this life unique,
unsought,
oblique,
the treasure to which lay within,
this treasure is yours to seek... to win,
that life is all you make and hold,
that love is willing to those so bold,
that truth is sought by those whom seek,
that pain is only conquered by the great... the greatest of all,
the meek.

carry

foundations,

this breath,

holds no bounds,

upon this earth,

nothing but dust,

gripped tight- within your mind,

bred among what lies,

nothing but to nothing is,

and a forgone conclusion to the experiment,

now ruins inside,

forgotten.