This body is Not me

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.

Say good-bye, to meet again soon.

We meet today.

We will meet again tomorrow.

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

So laugh with me,

hold my hand,

let us say good-bye,

We will meet at the source every moment.

We meet each other in all forms of life.

~By Thich Nhat Hanh,

 Chanting and Recitations from Plum Village. Page 188.

When you deny the reality of life,

you appreciate it less.

Meditate on the Buddha's

Five Remembrances and

rediscover the magic of life

just as it is.

Embrace Reality 

I am of the nature to grow old.
There is no way to escape growing old.

I am of the nature to have ill health.
There is no way to escape ill health.

I am of the nature to die.
There is no way to escape death.

All that is dear to me and everyone I love
are of the nature to change.

There is no way to escape
being separated from them.

My actions are my only true belongings.
I cannot escape the consequences of my actions.

My actions are the ground upon which I stand.

From The Plum Village Chanting, by Thich Nhat Hanh

The Truth Within

Walking with Peace and Presence

With each step I have arrived...I am home

http://www.explorefaith.org/tnh/tnh_am.html

Pen and ink drawing of Thich Nhat Hanh

by Jacob Bowley

For Warmth

I hold my face between my hands

No   I am not crying

I hold my face between my hands

To keep my loneliness warm

Two hands protecting

Two hands nourishing

Two hands to prevent

my soul from leaving me

in anger

~  Thich Nhat Hanh  ~

Thoughts of a fellow vegan…

The Year Of The Rat 

The value of its life is degraded to that of dirt -

we label it “a pest!”.

They are born with a death sentence -

to be exterminated at sight, or be used for laboratory testing.

In the Year of the Rat,

may we all see beyond the glossy symbols,

decorations and empty wishes.

may we all appreciate the good things we already have in life,

like food, sleep, clothes, money, work...

and never take these for granted.

may we all have compassion for the less fortunate amongst us,

such as the rat.

With compassion, true insight and generosity...

maybe, just maybe...

the new year will be happier.

It's a Season of Suffering...

for all those beings that end up as a festive meal

for the cats and dogs that are  abandoned to make way for new toys

for the homeless humans trying to keep dry and warm at some void deck waiting for a kind soul to bring a meal and a hot drink

for the cats and kittens seeking shelter in the drains that turn into death traps during heavy rains

for the caregivers worrying about their cats' safety during raining season

It's a cold and chilling season!

Fruits....meant to be eaten!

 

From Dreamy's Blog:

http://living-vegan.blogspot.com/2007/11/poem-by-animals.html

 

I will never see the sun rise

 I will never see it set
I will never feel a kind touch

I will never be a pet
I will never feel love

For I will not be loved
As I’m led to my murder

Being prodded, poked and shoved

As they cut my tender skin

I wondered who would care

If anybody out there

Would consider my despair

For you did not see me die

And you did not see me bleed
You did not hear me cry

For the meat that you don’t need

You did not watch them kill me

You could not feel my pain
You will try not to think of me

As you blindly eat again

I was the cow you ate on Monday

The pig you had midweek,
I was the turkey for your Christmas,

I was the calf you liked to eat

I was the chicken in your sandwich

The duck you had for tea
I felt pain beyond belief

But you never thought of me

Because thinking can be painful

And you refuse to see
That for every time you eat meat

Those animals must bleed

The cow was killed for Monday

The pig was scalded too
The turkey lived for 16 weeks

And the calf had died for you

The chicken lived inside a cage

The duck could hardly move
And all of this suffering

Occurred for so called food

I fail to see a reason

As there is no need
When humans eat my meat

 It is purely for their greed

You may think you’re above me

That you have advantage
But a kind, innocent creature

Is better than a savage

So next time you’re out shopping

Try to feel some guilt
For those animals have died

For your eggs, your meat and milk

My heroes are those people

Who will not bite into me
So I ask a simple favour

And please stop eating meat

I’m asking for the cows

The pigs and all the sheep
I’m asking for the birds

Who are more than just some meat

They can’t speak themselves

So please lets be their voice
Every one born into this

For them there was no choice

For you did not see me die

And you did not see me bleed
You did not hear me cry

For the meat that you don’t need

 

Ajahn Brahm’s talk  NO EXPECTATIONS

http://www.bswa.org/modules/mydownloads/visit.php?cid=15&lid=386

Ajahn Brahm reminds us to love with no expectations!

http://www.mayyoubeblessedmovie.com/820.html

 A slightly paraphrased version of an old Edgar Guest poem, The Things That Can't Be Done:

 The Things That Can't Be Done

"Somebody said that it couldn't be done,
But she with a chuckle replied
that maybe it couldn't but she would be one
who wouldn't say so till she'd tried.
So she buckled right in with a trace of a grin
on her face. If she worried she hid it.
She started to sing as she tackled the thing
that couldn't be done, and she did it!

From:  http://singaporecommunitycats.wordpress.com/

http://singaporecommunitycats.wordpress.com/2007/06/17/is-there-a-genesis-from-the-buddhist-perspective/

There comes a time when the world ends

Sucked inside a speck of dust

And it stays like that for untellable time

Until a ripple of impossibility

Dreams of tickling the shore of the real

And a trillion suns explode

~ Bhikkhu Sujato ~

Dream

Pain and grief come and stay

You are just a part of my dream

I feel the vehicle crushing my body

I feel the bewilderment and loss

Who drove that vehicle

I did…in my dream of time and space and form

Our Mother Earth

She gave birth to us not long ago

We are her youngest children

All the other children love her

And take good care of her 

We humans only cause her grief

We kill our brothers and sisters and abuse her

Cutting her lungs away

Poisoning her blood