Poems by Ken Kaji ...
(88) A Basket Full of Water
Speaking quite frankly, a man confessed that his mind was
like filling a basket with water. “I am profoundly gratified in hearing the
teachings during our Dharma gatherings. Afterwards, however, I retain
nothing of the reverence.” Rennyo offered the advice, “throw the basket of
yours into the water; likewise, immerse yourself in the dharma. Not having
faith is what is wrong. The zenchishiki will say it is bad to lack faith.”
Immersing self in dharma
This one phrase
embedded in the litany
of Rennyo’s many teachings*
Shown like a bright ‘unobstructed light’
from the labyrinth of times past
speaking directly to me
For like the seeker who beseeched Rennyo
About his mind, that was like a loosely woven basket
unable to retain sincerity or gratitude,
I, too, felt my lack of true reverence
His answer, “ throw your basket into the water,”
Means to forget self, and others
And to just take the plunge
Recently at the otera
My two year old grandchild,
Ojuzu on his tiny wrist, placed his hands in gassho
And shouted “Namu!”
Sometimes it takes a child
To teach their white haired guardian
about clarity of view…
and immersion.
* from Goichidaiki Kikigaki, Jottings of Rennyo Shonin. Translated by Elson
B. Snow
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I also will become a forest
dweller long before knowledge of liberation penetrates the undulating waves
of samsara. I shall accumulate bundles of good karma. The activity of
visualization relies solely on sitting quietly, listening intently,
carefully sifting my thoughts I shall be an exemplar comrade of all the
Buddhas in the ten directions, and gather up the 84,000 rays of emitted by
the Amitabha Tathagata.
Gemstone in the Forest
Somewhere west
of this grassless pond, a sanctuary now in disarray
Where gray tides endlessly pile up and recede
Researchers with cleated boots, doctoral degrees have kept from us a secret
It is the
place on this continent of the world’s most ancient grove of redwoods
That they have purposely hidden from public scrutiny and understanding
Lying in the nirvana of dense forest, unpenetrated by dusty trails, the clay
rut of roads
The age of
these remarkable gnarled trees
May exceed 2000 years for the trunks
Are of exceedingly broad in girth and of giant dimensions in height
The reason for
the secrecy of their location
Is obvious. The fear is that commercial interests
Would be tantalized and be unable to resist in plundering their potential
yield
But a far
worse enemy is the curious, the ignorant,
and the recreational voyeur, numbering in the tens of thousands
that would, ceaselessly out of boredom, plunder and carve the hearts out of
the virgin forest
Totally
unknown to earth’s common dweller
is the dense horizontal domains, the layers, the other worlds of the giant
redwoods
that has been created by centuries of tangled extensions, branches,
exigencies of growth
It is vast, a
land of ultimate felicity that spreads in ten directions, moss carpeted
embedded in golden pools and plants that sparkle, wish fulfilling gems, a
special community of unknown
creatures whose feet have not touched the scorched soil thousands of feet
below
a colony of
white ibis fly into this heavenly habitat each season
to mate, nest and raise their young among the flowers bejeweled with the
light of seven gems
Their songs are melodious, elegant, full of praise as they wade in the
captured pools of water
Leading up to
the various tiers of verdant platforms, thirteen in all,
We are beset, frequently, by black ravens that encircle the travelers
And dive in a group, always led by a boisterous leader, to tear at our flesh
Only those
impaled by sincerity, and singleness of mind and deep desire
to view an unfettered uncompromised reality, continue the arduous climb
despite the blister of hardships and frequently being suspended
For in that
uppermost carpet of celestial places there are incredible images
of the moon and the sun, bodisattvas flanking either side, in the prescient
center
a single lotus flower sits, and clear sky is filled with radiant reflection.
