Thursday, January 22, 2026

Via GBF]: 2 poems for Jeff


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Richard Azzolini

Wed, Jan 21, 8:12 PM (15 hours ago)
to Gay

    Jeff and I both loved these poems.

It was a joy knowing him.  

Richard


When Death Comes, Mary Oliver

When death comes,

like the hungry bear in autumn;

when death comes and takes all the bright coins from his purse

to buy me, and snaps the purse shut;

when death comes

like the measle-pox

when death comes

like an iceberg between the shoulder blades,

I want to step through the door full of curiosity, wondering:

what is it going to be like, that cottage of darkness?

And therefore I look upon everything

as a brotherhood and a sisterhood,

and I look upon time as no more than an idea,

and I consider eternity as another possibility,

and I think of each life as a flower, as common

as a field daisy, and as singular,

and each name a comfortable music in the mouth,

tending, as all music does, toward silence,

and each body a lion of courage, and something

precious to the earth.

When it's over, I want to say all my life

I was a bride married to amazement.

I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.

When it's over, I don't want to wonder

if I have made of my life something particular, and real.

I don't want to find myself sighing and frightened, or full of argument.

I don't want to end up simply having visited this world.     


Contemplation on no-coming and no-going - thich nhat hanh

This body is not me.

I am not limited by this body.

I am life without boundaries.

I have never been born,

and I have never died.


Look at the ocean and the sky filled with stars,

manifestations from my wondrous true mind.


Since before time, I have been free.

Birth and death are only doors through which we pass,

sacred thresholds on our journey.

Birth and death are a game of hide-and-seek.


So laugh with me,

hold my hand,

let us say good-bye,

say good-bye, to meet again soon.


We meet today.

We will meet again tomorrow.

We will meet at the source every moment.

We meet each other in all forms of life.


Monday, January 19, 2026

Meditation Month Day 19

 

Day 19
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PRACTICE PROMPT

Can you know that which has no boundary?
 
Can you know that which has no boundary?

Can you know that which has no shape or defined form?

When there is nothing in particular to know, where does your attention return?
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Commentary on the Heart Sutra

Read commentary from teachers like Thich Nhat Hanh and Shunryu Suzuki Roshi on the sutra that famously states that “form is emptiness; emptiness is form.”
 
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Via Daily Dharma: Everything Has Meaning

 

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Everything Has Meaning

Everything that exists in this world has a meaning. It is beyond presumption for human beings to decide merely based on their needs or likes and dislikes what is valuable and what is not.

Masahiro Mori, “Does a Robot Have Buddha-Nature?”


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Via Dhamma Wheel | Right View: The Noble Truth of Suffering

 

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RIGHT VIEW
Understanding the Noble Truth of Suffering
When people have met with suffering and become victims of suffering, they come to me and ask me about the noble truth of suffering. Being asked, I explain to them the noble truth of suffering. (MN 77) What is suffering? (MN 9)

Sickness is suffering. (MN 9)
Reflection
While nobody would wish illness on another person, times of ill health or affliction are often excellent opportunities for practice. The scope of our experience contracts, sometimes to a very small point of breathing in and out, or to a specific part of the body that is in pain. Illness and affliction focus our attention and force us to abandon much that is taken for granted in times of health. This is where we all come face to face with suffering.
Daily Practice
Scan your body with your awareness and check in to see if there is anywhere you are experiencing pain or discomfort. Few of us are entirely free of any instance of distress. Rather than trying to overlook or avoid the discomfort, turn your attention deliberately to it. There is something to learn here, something to see and understand. If you can’t find any pain, be grateful for that.
Tomorrow: Cultivating Lovingkindness
One week from today: Understanding the Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering

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