In the sea of unknown faces
Rain drops jazz
With New York lights
And puddles
The wealthy and the busy
Tap their echoing shoes
Lost somewhere in this Dream
It seems like the only one who still knows the way
Is the proletarian worker
Grounded by the hardships of this city life
As he sees the homeless brothers and sisters
He asks,
“Are you guys doing alright?”
“Do you have any garbage I can take for you?”
Oh the Universe explodes in joy – yes that is what I searched all along!
A dear teacher once taught me that everyday should be mother’s day. Though mother’s day is a highly commercialized and profitable day, its vibe still gives me a boost of energy to be grateful for mother.
.
Mother once said that
Life is like a shadow puppet show
~
~
Leather or paper figures,
A light source,
And its shadows will dance,
Sing,
Fight,
Love,
Be merry,
Crave,
War,
Kill,
Lie,
All in front of the double veil
Of light and shadow
~
Mother once whispered that
We are spirit
Our bodies are just shells
Performing theatrical roles
As given by the Lord
~
Mother once hinted
That Life’s plays are many
(Make sure to perform them)
(And continue this cycle)
Find a good partner,
Marry,
Have children,
Get a house,
A job that sustains,
Be a filial son to your aging parents
Don’t expect too much
Enough is enough
Life is not easy dear
Too many hardships indeed
~
Mother once explained
That all that I have now
Food, house, freedom and privilege
Took more than twenty years of suffering
To make this all happen for me,
The next generation
I need to be grateful for it
(Though we all still experience Dukkha)
~
Dukkha,
Insatisfaction,
Suffering,
Dwells in the minds of the majority of people,
I am one of those 99%,
It seems like everyone lives unsatisfied about something:
People want Better,
Better parents,
Jobs,
Houses,
People want more and more,
More wealth,
Respect,
Fame,
Power,
Oh Happiness always seems fleeting away…
~
The shadow puppet show continues…
Characters continue recycling
The music continues…
~
Oh little bird,
There is no escape
From Dukkha,
Even the mighty Monkey-King
Could not leap away
From Buddha’s palm
Accept the Noble Truths
~
When the puppet show seems too convincing,
When the shadows seem too real,
When the veils too blinding,
Mother shall embrace you
Fully and warmly
In that circle of emptiness
These clouds
Gather and go
~~~
These clouds of ignorance
Come and go
Veiling my beloved Moon
~~~
Sometimes the Moon shines
Its lovely light
Sometime it covers herself
With a dark veil
As if death permeates
The whole Universe
~~~
These clouds
Gather and go
~~~
The warm wind whispers
“The Moon shyly veils itself
In order to give herself to the right one”
~~~
My beloved Moon,
This path is long and painful and lonely
In order to reach your Heart
~~~
You spin the tides and the waves
To test the traveler.
Once you whispered to me
“Before you strive for Me,
First you have to cross the Ocean”
First step into the dry sand,
Then the waves,
Into the deep-sea,
Until you eventually
Reach the other shore
There we shall meet
~~~
These clouds
Gather and go
~~~
Down below,these shore waves
Have already battered me half-dead
How can I cross the Ocean and reach you
My beloved Moon?
~~~
These clouds
Gather and go
~~~
I wonder,
Perhaps I carry too much burden
No I can’t travel this burdened
With luggage from past and future
So much bondage to the things of this world
Still circling incessantly
Wishing happiness and escape from suffering
~~~
These clouds
Gather and go
~~~
Oh I’ve circled long
I see a sad child
A confused teenager
An over-worked middle aged man
And a lonely old-man
So much suffering
~~~
These clouds
Gather and go
~~~
I’ve tried some escape routes:
Eating
Following the ‘happy’ ones
Over-working
‘Rebelling’
And following the advice of the Ego
Yet I still suffer much
~~~
These clouds
Gather and go
~~~
Such is my bondage
To the things of this world:
Pleasure
Respect
Fame
Happiness
Oh my Ego and I have fought
A tough fight for these
We kicked and punched and grasped
Running and chasing
As far as India
Until home returned
To fight again
For things of the world
~~~
These clouds
Gather and go
~~~
We fought a hard battle Ego
It’s seems like it’s time to Surrender
Surrender to the All
For you shall never win a battle against
The One, the Divine Creator
Of you and me and All
Accept yourself as you are
An earthly human
Created in the image of All
Confused and ignorant
Not knowing the path
Foolish and sinful
So Surrender and appreciate this moment
~~~
These clouds
Gather and go
~~~
These clouds
Gather and go
~~~
Sooner or later the clouds shall return again…
When you meet another bird
You learn to let go
Wow I’m not that special
Just a wondering bird among many
Perched in this world-tree
~
When you meet another bird
You learn to let go
Your worries, attachments and cravings
Fall down like cold snow
As it touches the witnessing Earth
It becomes the cool stream
That flows and flows and flows
Oh this stream has flowed through
Rivers and mountains and forests
And so it shall continue to be
~
When you meet another bird
You learn to be Free
Dharma and Love are not mutually exclusive
Love is Freedom
Not the egocentric selfish cage
That imprisons the soul
So be Free little bird
Fly and go see the world
Experience it and suffer from it
To finally internalize Buddha’s Noble Truths
~
Oh Lord Buddha
When will I stop craving?
The bird sings
You have a long way to go
Perhaps
When you flow through
Enough lives and experiences and sufferings
You will let go
Let go of all
And dwell in Nothingness
I, blind
Tell myself
How can the blind lead the blind
Being blinded
Banished from light
Yet able to hear the cries of suffering
How can I blind lead the blind?
I tell myself
Suffering in darkness
Conscious of my blindness
I search for any source of Light
Within that shall light its way
Towards Seeing
Truth as it is
One day I shall see the Light
I tell myself
Either this or next lifetime
One day
I shall see the Light
Or die in darkness trying…
Oh ‘self-entitled’ activist
You want to change the world?
How about your mind?
Are you mindful?
Of the contradictory world
You encage yourself in?
.
Here you are in Paris
Where the world has its eyes upon
The COP21 negotiations
Nations have gathered
Corporations
Organizations
Associations
And ‘activists’ like you
You live in a hostel
You attend different workshops
Meet new people
Learn new things
It seems like
You are becoming conscious
Of the contradictions
Of your dualistic world
.
Did you know that
Ben and Jerry’s
Which sponsors your hostel
Is owned by the multinational Unilever
Remember those free ice-cream shots with whisky
It’s ‘a GMO free ice-cream’
They claim
But its cream
Is derived from Monsanto’s milk
.
Did you know that
Immigrants
Some Muslim, some not
Clean your beds, bathrooms and have to undertake
Your hypocritical ‘recycling’
Sometimes you walk past these brothers and sisters
And show no appreciation for their service
.
While you go outside and eat
Food served by Muslim immigrants
The French military
Bombs the Muslim ‘terrorists’ in Syria
What a contradictory world is this?
.
While you go attend
COP21’s “green zone”
The visitor’s section
The French police visit
Mosques, Muslim restaurants and houses
Raiding for potential terrorists
What a contradictory world is this?
.
While you sit in front of your laptop
Writing for the so called
Social, environmental, humanitarian causes
People are starving, dying and
Losing all hope in Life
Refugees stuck in a limbo
Between the French and English Channel
What a contradictory world is this?
.
Why was it so hard
After you had your nice “croque-monsieur” meal
For you to give some baguette bread
To a women beggar with a child?
Are they fake beggars?
Are they cheaters?
They wore head-covers
Most likely Muslims migrants
Where were they from?
Turkey, Syria, Lebanon?
Or other countries far away
From your limited consciousness
.
How can you call yourself an ‘activist’
If you can’t Love?
.
How can you call yourself an ‘activist’
If you can’t Love
The woman beggar with a child
The Muslims
The ‘Others’
The People
Torn in dualistic concepts
Corporations and non-corporations
Oppressors and the oppressed
White and non-white
French and non-French
We and them
Me and you
Self and non-self
.
Delve beyond the world of contradictions!
.
As you mindfully breathe
Become conscious of the world around you
And how to act upon it
Break free from the gap
Between your actual self and ideal self
Let go
Be in moment
Gain courage to Love
.
This is the Bridge
This is the Bridge
This is the Bridge out of this contradictory world!
.
Now go spread Love around the World!
As I walked along a covered pathway towards COP 21’s “Les Spaces Générations Climat” (the visitor’s section for 2015 Paris climate negotiations), I stumbled upon a thin, middle-aged French man. He is about 1.75m tall, light brown hair and with a young gentle face. He greeted me with a gentle smile and said “Hello.” “Hello,” I replied. I extended him my hand, introduced myself and added a “nice to meet you.” “François,” he told me his name. “Where are you from?,” he asked. “Lisbon, you?”“I’m from Auvergne, central France. Why are you here at COP21?,” he kindly inquired. “I’m a writer and photographer and decided to come check out COP21. How about you?”
“I just came here to Smile.”
Stupefied, I paused for a few seconds.
My recently self-constructed ego as a writer and photographer was pierced and shattered into little, little pieces. Before I set out for Paris, I had convinced myself that I was going to become a writer and photographer. Yes this was my new identity – covered with layers and layers of illusions and delusions.
I was cleansed by this humble man.
I was humbled by this humble man.
My heart was pierced by this humble man.
As I tried gathering myself together, I replied, “That’s beautiful.”
As we continued walking the long pathway, he voiced out “Mother Earth is very happy that people are all gathering here looking for solutions.” My mind was still trying to resist, who is this guy? Is he crazy?
We entered the main gate and walked towards the security check area. I looked at him and noticed that he had come to this event barefoot. Past memories of India flashed in my mind, images of barefoot pilgrims heading to places of worship.
After seeing me noticing him being barefoot, he said “We humans have created such a hard environment for ourselves. Look at this floor, it’s so hard and uncomfortable. We can feel it when we are barefoot. When we walk the Earth’s soil, it’s so soft and welcoming.”
I nodded my head in agreement and smiled.
He walked in front of me towards the security checkpoint. I humbly followed behind him. As he passed through the security, I noticed him slowly strolling away. We didn’t even say bye to each other, I thought to myself. I notice the message at the back of his sweat-shirt. It says, “Je suis chez moi. Je suis arrivé.” Through my limited skills in French, I translated to myself, “I am at home. I have arrived.”
I finally Smile. Yes I hope that one day I will join you my friend…
