Monday, July 08, 2002

EVE, MOTHER'S BIRTH
(for Catherine)

When my mother was born
whole reaches of universe came to be

when she died, so many coffee cups
beer glasses stay dry in cupboards --

still the universe drinks
without pouring a single drop

from what is not open.
When mothers are born

every point of light spouts itself
over and open over again

a wondrous thirst never slaked,
each word mothers our creation.

(wfh)

Sunday, July 07, 2002

There is no news in silence. Nothing is revealed with possessions.

Clear the land, thatch the rush for roof,
All around cherish the empty, the pure.
Mountain blossoms fall by a secluded door,
Within, one who has forgotten the world’s schemings.
Concern with existence needs no possession,
Comprehending the void does not wait upon reason,
All things are of conditions born,
Profound is the silence in the midst of clamor.
A person’s mind is very much the same;
A bird in flight, leaving no tracks behind.

- Liu Zongyuan (773–819) (dailyzen)

Dead chipmunk killed by cat is left out in open for crows. Government leaders plan similar scenarios for enemy leaders of countries considered threat to our way of life.

Women with cancer visit. Their chemo regimen balds heads and frightens hearts -- they reappraise what is dear to them.

The world is dizzy with greed and criminality on the part of heads of corporations. In America the sickness of excess and deception nauseates those who cause the infection and those suffering the received infection.

Diogenes, Socrates, Buddha, Christ, Confucius, Lao Tzu, Francis, Benedict, Teresa, Dorothy, and many others -- all search and seed the ground of earth/being for what is honest, true, and loving.

Concern with existence needs no possession…
Profound is the silence in the midst of clamor.


The emptiness of our arrival and departure seeks middle emptiness that trusts without grasping.
Birdsong and clanging bell attest to silence.

What I love about this life is simple awareness excluding nothing.
What I love about silence is what is included.

There is no news anywhere that is not in silence. If I learn to read the emptiness appearing around me, if I learn to hear the news of silence – then -- I will cherish and understand what and who I am.

Then, as now, I will leave no tracks, no trace.
Simply, one in flight.