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July 16th, 2008
02:48 pm
So, after 16+ hours on the road (I had a seat near the window so I was able to take quite a few naps), I am in Warsaw, sipping great and very strong (please, forgive my spelling) Polish "Zywiec" pilsner with great friends. What can be better?
a long flight East
sister full moon
why are you falling behind?
In other news, it looks like the acces to the internet will be sporadic. So, I appologize to all of you, if I miss your posts or will not respond. However, if you left you address with me (see the previous post), you will hear from me soon. If you did not, you still have a chance.
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July 14th, 2008
06:49 pm
Flying out from Corpus tomorrow at noon; arriving to Warsaw, Wd afternoon. The stop in Amsterdam is too short to explore the city. I would love to send you a card from Europe, maybe even a personalized haiku. So, please, put you address in the comment box (they all will be screened for your safety) and I shall know where to send it.
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06:10 pm
As soon as I finish worrying about the gift for mom (see previous post), I stumble on the right idea. So, I go to a boutique that carries a type of things I was looking for. I ran into my ex-girlfriend who points me to a certain image of Our Lady of Guadeloupe. I know that, if I had enough foresight to buy it in Mexico, I could have spent a fraction of what I pay now and here for a fancy box, ribbons, and the smile of my ex-girfriend. I also knwow that my mother will love all of it, including the smile.
As soon as I get back home, a phone rings. My mother tells me how sorry she is that she will not see me this Summer. I tell her she will see me sooner than she thinks. She says that she loves me
crossing the pond again
with Maria bosatsu
mom praying for me
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July 12th, 2008
03:23 pm
Except for one thing, I finished shopping. I still need to get a present for my mother. ( Read more... )
This calmed me down. A lot. ( Read more... )
Today and tomorrow, I will clean the house and office. Also, I will pack and clean the house. And the office.
Tomorrow Sappho is meeting her new pack. ( Read more... )
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July 8th, 2008
12:26 pm
'have been walking on a beach for years, always following pretty much the same routine -- parking the car where water cannot reach her, preferably not too close to other people, changing in the work out gear, making sure that Sappho is not thirsty, and so on. In particular, I always leave my shoes next to the car. So, I do not have to carry them when we want to roam through surf. And I do not have to look for them, when we are back. No, they are not some fancy shmancy shoes. Just a regular pair of super duper comfortable, blue flip flops that costed me about $3.50 and that I only wear to the beach. This morniong, first time in my life, they disappeared
someone took you
my worn down comfy blue flip flops
may you serve him well
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July 6th, 2008
12:00 am
When Soyen Shaku (1859-1919) was the abbot of Engaku-ji (a large Zen monastery in Kamakura, Japan) he liked to take a walk through the town early each morning. On one such occasion, he heard wailing coming from a house. Going inside he asked, "Why is everyone crying?" "We are morning the death of our child," he was told. Immediately the master took a seat among family and began loudly weep and wail with them.
On the way back to the temple, his attendant asked the master, "Do you know them?"
"No," he replied..
"Then why did you cry with them?"
"To share their sorrow," responded the abbot.
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July 4th, 2008
05:48 pm - Dying of the Masters
Born like a dream
In this dream of a world
How easy in mind I am,
I who will fade away
Like the morning dew.
One prays for the life of tomorrow
Ephemeral life though it be.
This is the habit of mind
That passed away yesterday.
The Original-nature
Means non-birth, non-distinction.
Then know that illusion
Is birth, death, rebirth.
Zen Master Ikkyu Sojun (XV c.)
quoted in Philip Kapleau
The Zen of Living and Dying (Shambhala, 1998)
This world
but a fleeting dream
So why be alarmed
at its evanescence?
In this world
All things are unreal
Death itself is
but an illusion. Zen Master Ikkyu Sojun (XV c.)
from Skeletons
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July 3rd, 2008
10:39 pm - Dying of the Masters
As Zen master Taji (1889-1953) approached death, his senior desciples assembled at his bedside. One of them, remembering the roshi was fond of a certain kind of cake, had spent half a day searching the pastry shops of Tokyo for this confection, which he now presented to Roshi Taji. With a wan smile the dying master accepted a piece of cake and slowly began munching it. As he grew weaker, his desciples leaned close and inquired whether he had any final words for them.
"Yes," the master replied.
The disciples leaned forward eagerly so as not to miss a word. "Please tell us!"
"My, but this cake is delicious!" And with that he slipped away.
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10:24 pm - A possible inscription on a T-shirt, bumper sticker, etc.
to honor the dead
live &
celebrate life!
Also, at sunset, a great walk with Sappho through the South-East wind
low tide
we can barely walk through surf
too much weed
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11:31 am
Waiting for news from ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) rosa_ostrina. Come on, Sistah, please tell us how it goes!!
Also, this marvelous photo was posted on ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) naturesbeauty:
birds on the naked branch
seduced by beauty
I step in poo
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03:06 am - Dying of the Masters
At one time the Zen master Hofuku (Pao-fu) called his students and said, "During last week my energy has been draining -- certainly no cause for worry. It's just that death is near."
A monk asked, "You are about to die. What meaning does it have? We will continue living. What meaning does that have?"
"They are both the Way," the master replied.
"But how can I reconcile the two?" asked the monk.
"When it rains it pours," Hofuku answered and, wrapping his legs in the full lotus, calmly died.
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02:55 am - the_urban_monk posted this on his blog
Last night's sangha meeting had an unusually small attendance, but practice was intense. Afterwards, I stopped at a store I normally never set foot in, Wal... I don't even want to say it.
I was there because I'd gotten a call from someone who urgently needed some food, and it was the nearest place that was open. As I stood in line at the checkout, still wearing my robes, one of the staff came up to me, looked at me and said, "Which sect?"
"Rinzai Zen," I said.
"I did a Nichiren Buddhist practice for a few years," he said. "Buddhism's strange... even after you leave it, it doesn't leave you. Things open that don't close."
"Yes," I said.
We bowed to each other, then he went on with his work and I went on with mine.
"Things open that don't close" -- how true!
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June 30th, 2008
07:07 pm
Dear Sheila, Dear Shannon's Friends,
I am very sad. Shannon was special, a very gentle soul really listening to the world and the words. I remember slams when she was a judge and would would score me in the hood of 9s when judges were giving me 5s and 6s. I loved that.
I was thrilled when she came to Corpus to visit her mother and do a feature at our venue. I thoroughly cleaned up my car; this included vacuuming it and washing the windows inside. Sure it may sound trivial. But there are but few people for whom I did the same. Then I put on some Coltrane and took her on the most scenic ride of the city, showing her some sights of the bay and the gulf that was almost as beautiful as she is. We had good time.
When someone young dies, it's tragic, it does not make sense. Many of you knew her much better than I did. Maybe your sadness is unbearable. I am sorry. I am grieving with you, and sending you my love, and joining you in your prayers.
When I was in my teens, my best friend killed himself. It was devastating, I could not find a place for myself. Then I found an old story involving the Buddha helping the mother who lost her only child. It brought me some solace. I'm putting it behind the cut. I do not know what else to say. ( Read more... )
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June 29th, 2008
06:43 pm
more cat pictures
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June 27th, 2008
05:17 pm - Crossing the pond again
'just bought a plane ticket to go to Poland, to see my mother. She does not know yet that I'm coming and I am toying with the idea not to tell her at all and simply show up on her steps with the bouquett of flowers. Well, I worry that the shock might be too big. She is 91 years old.
counting days
till I'll kiss your hands
mother
In other news. On the way back, I will have a long layover in Chicago. I'm flying in on the 5th of August, depart on the 10th. Do you know of any poetry readings in the 'hood?
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June 26th, 2008
12:35 pm
Spanish parliament approves 'human rights' for apes
Lee Glendinning guardian.co.uk , Thursday June 26, 2008
Great apes should have the right to life and freedom, according to a resolution passed in the Spanish parliament, in what could become landmark legislation to enshrine human rights for chimpanzees, gorillas, orang-utans and bonobos.
The environmental committee in the Spanish parliament has approved resolutions urging the country to comply with the Great Apes Project, founded in 1993, which argues that "non-human hominids" should enjoy the right to life, freedom and not to be tortured.( Read more... )
Maybe we can act in a truly altruistic way. Yey!
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09:49 am
A busy day, with lots of walking in the sun and an extra run to the office, at night, to finish a job for my students. The silent half moon watches me plodding through the parking lot. Step by step, for my knees and feet ache so badly that I think about taking an extra anti-inflamatory pill. I decide against it. Herb tea and going straight to bed will be enough
good thing
about coming home
the dog wagging her tail
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June 25th, 2008
01:24 am
STRATEGY FOR A SERIOUS HAIKU DEATH MATCH (e.g., the National Poetry Slam event). I'm thinking about designing one. So, I hope to hear from you, my much more established friends -- slomosexual, ekabhumi, pinata, theklute, poetryslam, tonyjackson, dny, bigsleep666 and all other haijins interested in this sort of crap, I am looking your way. ( Read more... )
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June 23rd, 2008
07:40 pm - 21+ haiku and haibuns I wrote in May
Kind of follow up to an earlier post about the poison of ego( Read more... )
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01:45 pm - The poison of ego
There is a saying, popular in Buddhist circles, that "The only function of ego is to serve itself." The implication is that ego does not help to achieve anything positive. In fact, it stands in the way of everything that is truly precious. Not that I am a Buddhist, but I was thinking about some clear examples showing how useless ego is and how stupid and painful it is to cling to it. Then this came to me. ( Read more... )
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