According to Buddha
The spirit is so near that you can’t see it. But reach for it…don’t be a jar, full of water, whose rim is always dry. Don’t be the rider who gallops all night and never sees the horse that is beneath him/her/them.
***
a day or so ago ~ Clearwater, BC territory of Okelhs First Nations ~ August 2021
According to Buddha
There is a Zen story about a man riding a horse that is galloping very quickly. Another man, standing alongside the road, yells at him, “Where are you going?” and the man on the horse yells back, “I don’t know. Ask the horse.” I think that is our situation. We are riding many horses that we cannot control.
the bright horses have broken free from the fields
they are horses of love, their manes full of fire
they are parting the cities, those bright burning horses
and everyone is hiding, and no one makes a sound
***
sweet horses ~ Free Rein Ranch ~ Lamont, Alberta ~ July 2019
According to Buddha
Love with expectation would never last. Last love must be intangible, pure and unconditional.
that night in toronto
with its checkerboard floors
riding on horseback
and keeping order restored
’til the men they couldn’t hang
stepped to the mic and sang
and their voices rang with that aryan twang
***
horses at Free Rein Ranch ~ Lamont Alberta ~ March 2019
According to Buddha
Habits are simply thoughts grooved deeply into the brain. The needle of the mind plays those records of habits again and again. Even the chemistry of the body responds, as with addiction. Applying mind and will can change those patterns. Don’t immediately attempt dramatic changes. Experiment in little things first, to train your inherent power of command.
say a prayer for the cowgirl, her horse ran away
she’ll walk until she finds him, her darling, her stray
but the river’s in flood and the roads are awash
and the bridges break up in the panic of loss
and there’s nothing to follow, nowhere to go
he’s gone like the summer, gone like the snow
***
Free Rein Ranch, Lamont, Alberta ~ March 2018
According to Buddha
Deep down, fundamentally, we are the ‘unborn’. We never came into being and we never go out of being. All of these coming and goings are just pulses in the pattern.
margery’s dreaming of the middle of the day
tiyuri to win
perfect dozen to place
money is the matter that’s been on her mind
time ticks by her one race at a time
she’s tryin’ to be a good girl
and give ’em what they want
but margery’s dreaming of horses
***
Northlands Park Racetrack and Casino, Thoroughbred Racing ~ September 2017
According to Buddha
In the mountain hermitage which is my body,
In temple of my breast
At the summit of the triangle of my heart,
The horse which is my mind flies like the wind
He gallops on the plains of great bliss.
he’s a Spanish fly who bucks like a stallion,
in the suits that you got him, he looks more Italian.
when you worry about your tan, when the weathers getting clammy.
summer in the city, and winters in Miami.
and you get so high on the high-life pills.
cruising and boozin’ and rockin’ on the horse-sized pills.
***
Kelowna, British Columbia and Edmonton, Alberta ~ random horses ~ October 2015.
According to Buddha
If we are facing in the right direction, all we have to do is keep on walking.
don’t try to tell me to wait till i belong
you can’t convince me that what i dream is wrong
no matter what you say, you can’t cloud my head
i push the fear away…you remember what i said
you can’t stop the tide rising high, no
you can’t stop the light in my eyes, oh no
you can’t keep me down, i’ll tell you why
***
Saddle Lake, Alberta ~ September 2015.
According to Buddha
The places that we will experience in future rebirths will be the outcome of the karma that we share with the other beings living there. The actions of each of us, human or nonhuman, have contributed to the world in which we live. We all have a common responsibility for our world and are connected with everything in it.
she said slow down this train
slow down the iron that runs in my veins
***
Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village, along Highway 16 ~ Alberta ~ August 2015.
According to Buddha
The Buddha can stay in the realm of not-knowing, the realm of blissful non-attachment. The Bodhisattva vows to save the world, and therefore to live in the world of attachment, for that is also the world of empathy, passion, and compassion.
it’s been thirty summers that i’ve spent with him
and i expect thirty more to pass
he has blessed my life in so many ways
that i could never turn my back
***
Ponoka Alberta, Ponoka Stampede ~ July 2015.
According to Buddha
Wisdom can teach us to separate people’s actions from who they are. We can agree or disagree with their actions, but remain balanced in our relationship with them. We can also understand that our own thoughts and impulses are the result of impersonal conditions. By not taking them so personally, we are more likely to stay at ease with their arising.
cause i saddle up my horse
and i ride into the city
i make a lot of noise
cause the girls
they are so pretty
riding up and down broadway
on my old stud Leroy
and the girls say
save a horse, ride a cowboy
***
St. Albert, Alberta ~ Rainmaker Rodeo ~ May 2015.
sloppybuddhist 
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