poetry, photography and reflections on life, aging, and dharma
The other night, I was lying in bed before sleeping. The house was still, my wife asleep beside me, my dog snoring softly in her bed across the room. Amid this deep quiet, I began to try to feel all of the sensations that were rising to my mind from each of the senses. And … Read more
I wouldn’t have missed a minute of it. And I pray that I will have many more to experience. Little boy, I weep for joy at the prospect of meeting you!
Actions refuse to be undone. whatever merit you’ve gathered turns to dust, blows away on the icy winds of hell. Two Poems on the karma of anger.
For the last couple of years, I’ve written here on Oldbones and posted photos on a couple of other sites. These all began as a bit of a dare, a challenge to myself to show more and to protect less. And while the response from those who’ve generously taken the time to read, view … Read more
As the clouds began to part, there was still more disappointment – “I thought it would be bigger” I heard. “It’s not very red, is it?” said a teenage girl standing with her friends. Slowly, the hill began to empty, the air growing colder as it neared 9 pm.
On a somewhat friendlier note (than Suicidal manikins…) A Bodhisattva is an awakened being who chooses to return to this suffering world again and again, until all of the numberless sentient beings have awakened. This can take many forms, from reincarnation in the Hell Realm (as Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of compassion, attempted causing his head … Read more
The Shambhala teachings speak of “effortless effort,” the quality of effort without struggle. I’ve never been very good at this myself – at one point in my career my nickname was “the bulldozer.” But I’m workin’ on it…
One classic Buddhist image of ‘self’ is of waves in the ocean, each somehow distinct but each still entirely of the water, inseparable from it. I like to think of each of us as a local concentration of sentience, of mind, of life force. Why the universe has chosen to organize itself this way I have no idea; but I think it does — moreover, I think it’s through this manifestation that the universe expresses itself and looks to experience itself.
food my mother kept a grinder in the kitchen for breaking nuts, or making sausage– I remember the feeling of jamming pieces of meat into the mouth of the machine, watching as muscle, tendons and the odd small bones were crushed, feeling the resistance as the handle paused until the harder bits would break. Any … Read more
