According to Buddha
The week should be allotted to work, amusement, and spiritual couture; five days for money-making, one day for rest and amusement and at least one day for introspection and inner realization.
all work and no play
makes jack a dull chap
when it comes to the crunch
it s too much i’ve got to stop
no pain and no gain it s driving me insane
***
The Financial District, Toronto, ~ June 2017
According to Buddha
I am beyond everything finite; I now see that the Spirit, alone in a space with Its ever-new joy, has expressed Itself as the vast body of nature.
I am the stars,
I am the waves,
I am the Life of all,
I am the laughter within all hearts,
I am the smile on the faces of the flowers and in each soul.
I am the Wisdom and Power that sustain all creation.
i am a star, the tear of the sun
i am a wonder, a wonder in flower
i am the spear as it cries out for blood
the word of great power
i am the wind that breathes on the sea
who but i can cast light upon the meeting of the mountains?
who but i will cry aloud the changes in the moon?
who but i will find the place where hides away the sun?
***
Talus Dome + iPhone airplane clouds ~ Edmonton to Toronto ~ June 2017
According to Buddha
The secret of success and happiness is inside you. If you have found success and prosperity outside, but not inside, you are not truly successful. A millionaire who is not happy is not successful. I don’t mean that if you have a million dollars you cannot be a success. Whether you are rich or poor, if you get happiness out of life you are a real success.
and i feel like
some bird of paradise
my bad fortune slipping away
and i feel the innocence of a child
everybody’s got something good to say
***
Edmonton, Alberta ~ Lunar New Year ~ 2017
According to Buddha
spotless is my mental sky,
below, ahead, and high above.
eternity and i, one united ray.
i, a tiny bubble of laughter,
have become the sea of mirth itself.
i got a cabin in the country
and the tin roof rattles
when the rain comes down
where the wind through the pine
helps me unwind
while the world goes ’round
i’m gonna live, laugh, love, just for today
gonna take all the trouble and put it away
gonna drink every drop of happiness
’til they cover me up
i’m gonna live, gonna laugh, gonna love
***
Saskatchewan Highway 40 ~ November 2016
According to Buddha
Beginning with the early dawn of each day, I will radiate joy to everyone I meet. I will be mental sunshine for all who cross my path. Before the unfailing light of my cheer, darkness will take flight.
i can’t make the hills
the system is shot
i’m living on pills
for which i thank g-d
i followed the course
from chaos to art
desire the horse
depression the cart
i sailed like a swan
i sank like a rock
but time is long gone
past my laughing stock
my page was too white
my ink was too thin
the day wouldn’t write
what the night pencilled in
***
Terwillegar Park ~ Edmonton, Alberta ~ November 2016
According to Buddha
True friendship consists in being mutually useful in offering one’s friend good cheer in distress, sympathy in sorrow, advice in trouble, and material help in times of real need. Friendship consists in rejoicing in the good fortune of one’s friends and in sympathizing with them in adversity. One who has given his friendship to another gladly foregoes selfish pleasures or self-interest for the sake of his friend’s happiness, without consciousness of loss or sacrifice, and without counting the cost.
muskrat susie, muskrat sam
do the jitterbug out in muskrat land
and they shimmy
and sammy’s so skinny
and they whirled and they twirled and they tangoed
singin’ and jingin’ the jango
floatin’ like the heavens above
it looks like muskrat love
***
muskrats in Last Mountain Lake, Town of Regina Beach, Southern Saskatchewan ~ November 2016
According to Buddha
Thoughts and sensations are like searchlights: they throw their rays in front on material objects; they do not reveal the soul behind them. Intuition is like a spherical light, with rays on all sides, revealing the soul and also its outward projections of thoughts and sensations connected with the ego. Intuition is the bridge between the soul and the ego’s thoughts and sensations.
yeah, these habits are so hard to break
and they’re so easy to make
well these habits are so hard to break
and they’re so easy to make
***
Waseca, Saskatchewan, Saskatchewan, Canada ~ November 2016
According to Buddha
Karma is the law of action or cosmic justice, based upon cause and effect. Your every act, good or bad, has a specific effect on your life. The effects of actions in this life remain lodged in the subconsciousness; those brought over from past existences are hidden in the superconsciousness, ready like seeds to germinate under the influence of a suitable environment. Karma decrees that as one sows, so must he inevitably reap.
i bet there’s rich folks eatin’
in a fancy dining car
they’re probably drinkin’ coffee
and smokin’ big cigars
but i know i had it comin’
i know i can’t be free
but those people keep a-movin’
and that’s what tortures me
***
The Alberta Railway Museum ~ October 2016
According to Buddha
The word “death” is a great misnomer, for there is no death; when you are tired of life, you simply take off the overcoat of flesh and go back to the astral world.
don’t you ever laugh as the hearse goes by,
for you may be the next one to die.
they wrap you up in big white sheets
and cover you from head to feet.
they put you in a big black box
and cover you with dirt and rocks.
all goes well for about a week,
until your coffin begins to leak.
the worms crawl in, the worms crawl out,
the worms play pinochle on your snout,
they eat your eyes, they eat your nose,
they eat the jelly between your toes.
***
Edmonton Cemetery, Edmonton, Alberta ~ October 2016
According to Buddha
The balanced rhythm of the universe is rooted in reciprocity.
to stare at the sky
i am wide open
reaching forever
i fly into the blue
i am wide open
reaching forever
i fly into the blue
flat mark
high tide
frantic to stay afloat
stay calm
let in some air i dare lie down
to stare at the sky
i am wide open
reaching forever
i fly into the blue
***
Jaume Plensa, The Bow, Calgary ~ October 2016
