According to Buddha
physical beauty
that comes from keeping up appearances
can only be maintained temporarily,
but beauty that takes
authenticity and sincerity as its foundation
is timeless and eternal.
the story’s told
with facts and lies
i have a name
but nevermind
there’s truth that lives
and truth that dies
i don’t know which
so nevermind
***
walking around Alexanderplatz, Berlin, Germany ~ September 2018
According to Buddha
It is a very powerful thing that we could be by doing nothing. In fact, we be by not being. Struggle does not play an important part in order to exist. We don’t have to strategize further ways of maintaining ourselves or existing ourselves.
someday they won’t let you
so now you must agree
the times they are a-telling
and the changing isn’t free
you’ve read it in the tea leaves, and the tracks are on tv
***
Legislature Library, Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Edmonton ~ October 2018
According to Buddha
We have to restore the meaning of the word ‘love.’ We have been using it in a careless way. When we say, ‘I love hamburgers,’ we are not talking about love. We are talking about our appetite, our desire for hamburgers. We should not dramatize our speech and misuse words like that. We make words like ‘love’ sick that way. We have to make an effort to heal our language by using words carefully. The word ‘love’ is a beautiful word. We have to restore its meaning.
i got an ol’ pair of boots
and they fit just right
i can work all day
and i can dance all night
i got an ol’ used car
and it runs just like a top
i get the feelin’ it ain’t
ever gonna stop
stuff that works, stuff that holds up
the kind of stuff you don’ hang on the wall
stuff that’ real, stuff you feel
the kind of stuff you reach for when you fall
***
Joey’s Place, Edmonton AB ~ January 2019
According to Buddha
Everything in the universe is created by our own mind. Our mind is the source of all phenomena. Form, sound, smell, taste, and tactile perception such as hot and cold, hard and soft—these are all creations of our mind. They do not exist as we usually think they do. Our consciousness is like an artist, painting every phenomenon into being. Once you have attained the state of the realm of no materiality, you will have succeeded. The realm of no materiality is the state in which we see that no phenomenon exists outside of our own mind.
***
along the way Saskatchewan Highway 16 ~ December 2018
According to Buddha
We commit to the daily disciplined practices of meditation, yoga, exercise, wise actions, kindness, forgiveness, generosity, compassion, appreciation, and moment-to-moment mindfulness of feelings, emotions, thoughts, and sensations. We are developing the skillful means of knowing how to apply the appropriate meditation or action to the given circumstance.
there’s a rhythm to a highway to match the rhythm of your fears.
i don’t know what it’s like for you but here’s what it’s like for me…i wanted to turn beautiful and serve eternity and never follow money or love with greasy hands, or move the earth and waters just to make it fit my plans…my eyes would be the harbor, my words the perfect place for a girl on a road.
***
inside the grain elevator ~ Marshall, Saskatchewan, Canada ~ December 2018
According to Buddha
Meditate upon the teacher as the glow of your awareness,
When you melt and mingle together,
Taste that expanse of nonduality.
There remain.
down where the gulls dance driftwood lying drying for the fire
yellow beak and sleek now the gulls are crying flying higher
out from the sea came a little green crab
taking the Sun the morning being very drab
old rusty cans, pebbles ‘bedded in the sand stand and stare
***
Lithodidae ~ December 2108
According to Buddha
Those who understand the way it is, rather than the way they wish it were, are on the path to freedom.
you
touching you
something new
i can’t be
***
along the way back AB 16 ~ December 2018
According to Buddha
The point of the spiritual revolution is not to become a good Buddhist, but to become a wise and compassionate human being, to awaken from our life of complacency and ignorance and to be a buddha.
reflections of myself, life is no easy game
and we’re caught in the trade winds
the trade winds of our time
***
Barbed wire ~ December 2018
According to Buddha
It is only in the depth of silence that the voice of Spirit can be heard. Speak as low as possible, as little as possible, as sweetly as possible.
button your lip baby
button your coat
lets go out dancing
***
‘Practical & Pretty: Buttons and Fasteners’, 1792-1908 ~ RAM, Etown ~ December 2018
According to Buddha
Do not wait for anybody or anything. Do whatever you can, build your hope on none.
nothing but
you will have nothing but love
nothing but hope, blue sky above
you will find nothing but peace
nothing but the sun shining on your face
***
Ponte 25 de Abril, Lisbon, Portugal ~ April 2018
