Bodhi Day 2003
Even
though the flesh falls from my bones
and
the bones themselves crack,
I
will not get up from this seat
until
I have attained supreme and perfect enlightenment!
So
saying the prince sat into the deepest darkness
with
nothing but himself for company
but
the demon murderer and seducer Mara
was
within himself.
Mara
is the carnival barker,
the
ultimate cosmic con man,
the
one who keeps you at the table
hoping
for the next lucky throw
and
each roll sinks you deeper into karmic debt
But
the prince saw through this
sitting
ever so still and calm
watching
all the past plays
every
win and every loss
and
the house always wins
and
Mara owns the house
But
the bodhisattva saw something more
the
orderly procession of seed and flower
flower
and seed, seed and flower
and
fertile soil, flowing water, all embracing light
an
endless cycle of growth, fertility, decay
he
saw every cause and condition which had
brought
him to this flowering beneath the Bodhi Tree
he
saw the causes and conditions of all life
The
morning star broke through the darkness
a
new view of life shone through the bodhisattva
now
a Buddha with infinite light and life to share
a
vision taking in the farthest galaxy
and
the nearest mote of dust
a
vision of flowing boundless life
with
no birth and no death interrupting
no
need to keep spinning the wheel
All
things in tranquility just as they are
No
need for self-interest anymore
no
need to fear sickness, old age and death
no
need to stay in a losing game
spinning
a wheel that has no real payoff
Buddha
had stopped the futile game at last saying:
House
builder, you have now been seen;
You
shall not build the house again.
Your
rafters have been broken down;
Your
ridge pole is demolished too.
The
Buddha stepped out of the ruin
of
the decrepit burning house of Mara
and
into the golden eternity
of
the pure land of tranquil light
and
even now is shaking us awake
so
each of us can see it for ourselves.
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