Tuesday, June 30, 2015

one o’clock in the morning,
thunder cracks open
this studious pre-dawn.
thirty-one years of effort
and this dance
still exists between
our practice
and insight.
seekers come
and try to find meaning
where none exists.
students want a degree
hoping they will
no longer suffer.
understanding cannot
help us relate to this world,
Kānhuà chán is the path
of the serious student.
so what are you doing
right now is the question,
the thunder and lightening
illuminate the sky.
do we just pause
and no longer desire?
or do we follow
a path where we 
dress up and act out
a script written by 
the mores of some 
long forgotten asian culture?
is our job to discover
our true voice
or to become a parrot
echoing the sayings of old!
~ wonji dharma

Sunday, June 28, 2015

E. Truman Road


up early
scampering out 
for the retreat,
old friends 
and current
drive along 
e. truman road.
echoes of a magnificent past
illuminated in the morning pale,
most of it is boarded up now
only scattered businesses remain.
still the ghosts 
of that time gone by
are singing in my brain.
us humans 
can only see is,
then and there 
not within our grasp.
and yet glimpses
of the honor and glory
that once was a proud 
and lively playground abound.
shades of Charlie Parker
his vibrato of 
that long gone era
peeks through the crevices
to appear in dodging morning shadows.
turning the corner 
at white ave.
it is time to begin
the days festivities’
and bid farewell
to these echoes
of this forlorn past.