Poem: Meta-morph-praxis

I am ignorance
un-aware.
I do not care because
there is they and
here is me,
false-self, self, self,
and on
you I’ll pee.

Stratified divided,
un-united,
inside the closet’s where
I reside in.

Bright bright light consumes
me in my darkroom
this is expoooosuuuure
to perceived others
suuuufferrrrrs,
so I
can’t live ignorant
Annny lonnnnnnnger.

Inside a fire
begins to start, in-
side my heart it
is compassion. Now,
love in action is
what is hapnin.’

Monies, countries, and enemies…
illusions
are you separations!
The truth indeed is
self as we so
o-bese e-go
has, got to go!
Adios!
You are killer
as Killer coke
Killer cola!



And hola
Righteous Selflessness.
I exper-i-ence
mystical
unity
one-ness.

One heart.
One Love.
Solidarity.

For getting together-ness
and
feeling alright-ness,

for the increasing of happiness
and the lessening of suffering,

for brotherhood,
for sisterhood,
and all that is good,

lets search for alternatives
so that
life can live, with
co-existent co-operation.

For the healing of the nations,

Come on and, lets
liberate liberation

Let her free
Let her see
Let her be

-Anthony

Poem: Conscious All Versus American Capital “M” dash “Pyre”

[Conscious All:]
Invader!
Raider of turf!
Why must you kill
all the creatures
and Earth?
Where inside
it
are you find-
ing
any worth?
We demand
you disarm
all us be-ings,
we are hurt!

[M-Pyre:]
Aww,
come on now!
You ought to better know me.
I gotta gotta eat
more of
them resource-ceez.

Cause the only highest power
that my eyes can see
Is a mighty common acronym,
“G” to the “O”
Tuh’ tuh’ the “D”

[ Conscious Chorus:]
For the Gold, Oil, Drugs is why
He’s spreading the blood
For the Gold, Oil, Drugs is why
He’s spreading the blood
For the Gold, Oil, Drugs is why
He’s spreading the blood

[Conscious All:]
Elite!
This thug
Is American!
Capital letter “M” dash “Pyre!”
Napalmed grand mom’s
in Vietnam
and melted
skeletons
on fire!
Possesed by his possessions,
Expansions
All he
Desires

[Conscious Chorus:]
M-Pyre!,
On you a demon made a spell!
M-Pyre!,
Truth, all your hurt-
ing is yourself!
M-Pyre!,
Should share it good
Share your wealth!
M-Pire!,
We pray for you,
To soon get well.

[M-Pyre:]
Conscious all,
all
yall
is no victims
in this
system.
You got to feel my ism’s!
Capital,
political,
military,
industrial.
Connected by all them
chords umbilical.
Live life in a bubble,
and don’t knock my hustle.
Any questioning
of the weaponing,
out in public
I will call you…
unpatriotic-al!

[Conscious All:]
M,
hold up now,
just for one minute.
We here you propaganda,
but we just don’t dig it!
So get out of town.
Please take the next train or bus,
cause’ your nuclear arms have been toxic-ing us,
And you’re ish’ outta’ luck,
cause we mean
most serious.

Hands,
hearts,
heads…
Please spread
like on bread
with peanut butter
these truths
to many others…
Thank us
will our Earth Mother
when we
wake up and love her.
And end
will many suffers
when we
all free each other.

And end
will many suffers
when we
all free each other.

-anthony

Poem: Observations through glass

Looking into the world through the
Safety of glass encasement allows one
To see the world as it is, unbridled
From the worst and simplistic as to
Only view motion.
I see (a):
Woman running, sleek and slender moving
Easily as each step allows for another
Spring forward.
Friends walking along a path moving toward
A shared destiny as each step brings
Them closer to me, or further away?
Trees gently rustling in the breeze
Swayed by nothing more than nature
Existing, for no purpose?
River gently flowing pushing along its
Contents without purpose propelled by
Nature’s currents.
Snow dripping away into the soil without
Concern to what it has been or where
It is going or what affect it has.

The observations show me that
Things change naturally with fluidity
And foster positive outcome. Things
Created by sudden occurrences are formed
From malice and the unintentional and are
Not meant to be emulated.

Change comes with
Ease and Peace.

-mike

Poem: A Peaceful Heart (Inspired by Thay, a.k.a. Thich Nhat Hanh)

If we are anger
We a living in hell
What we put into our minds
Brings us
To where we are
Our own weapons are…
Prejudice, fear, and ignorance
Working for peace is
Uprooting roots from
Within us and others
What of us others ask…
Give
There are always ways to
Solve our problems
Always ways
Without killing
The person we call our “enemy”
Is also suffering
Deeply
When we
See
This we
Have the capacity
To love
We have compassion for
And accept one another
“Enemies” are illusions
They are individuals who are
Suffering and greatly need our compassion
Forgiveness is
The fruit of awareness
Forgive kindly
Mindfully
It will allow you to see
Root causes that lead to them
To suffering
This occurs naturally
And this allows
Compassion
To be given

-anthony

Lesson is “The Roots of War”…

Consciousness is collective
The president is us
We are responsible in our
Support for love and understanding
We cannot be supporting
Of violence, hatred, anger, or fear
War causes suffering unto everyone
Its wounds are deep
In our souls
Is war
In us is toxicity
Society has become infected with illness
Not being happy enough
We need to begin with practicing
Peace, joy, and happiness,
Mindfulness within ourselves
Being in touch
With what is refreshing
And healing inside all around
Will transform the seeds of war
Within us collectively
By perceiving and doing
We influence others
Transformation
Is possible
We are all co-responsible

What we fill society with
Manifests into
What is inside society

-anthony

Poem: energy, flow

Solitude in wisdom, energy in flow.

We are the observers of the flow
Bearing witness to the constant
Moving of the people wrought by
Time and forced into observance.
We know not what we see for
Believing what is unknown is the
Folly of the believer and the
Knowledge of the thinker is to
Know that nothing is definite and
That finite particles can mean the
World or nothing at all.
We are the keepers of the gate,
Those who allow energy to
Flow and the guardians of what
May seem right but only truly
Express self-interest and offer
Nothing but the gentle rise of
Personal ego letting wind to the
Fruitless nature of passionless action.
We are all part of one, cog wheels in
The motion of life ticking in unison to
Strive for what ought to be and to
Berid this planet of what shouldn't;
That which is unfortunate was never a
Friend of us but we need not hold
Disdain towards things, objects that we
Cannot necessarily control as they are
Meant to be, meant to be wrong?
Nothing is inherently wrong, simply
Misguided by negative principals or
Strung about by mantra and partisanship.
We must accept the word of another to
Realize that we are truly citizens on a
Ship, a vessel known as a planet, the
Celestial body that we hold and too often
Ruin out of greed and want and other
Misguided principals.

It is our obligation to right that
Has become wrong and to strive for
A better planet to inhabit, to
Advocate for the truly ideal, to
Become Citizens.

-mike
note: the picture before this poem was taken by me while I was in South Africa in the countryside an few hours outside of Durban.

Poem: Citizen Ship

Soul journeying
Across universe’s space
Inter-depend-ed
On inter-connections
We are citizens
In a ship

Harmless
Standing under
So that others uplift-ed
How high they are shining
On us they are sun

Love one
Teach one
See one another
As one

Help all others
For the benefit of all beings
The conscious-ness
The cultural collective
Spiritual village

Humans
Right and left ten fingers in unity
We as privileged members giving back in society
Response-ing
Able-ly and willing-ly

Theraputical remedies
Healing inner and outer
Natures in need

Pollinate harmony
Pure waters
Disobeying-ly
Cease hell fire civilly

The force
The source
Positive energy
The creative ingredient
That disrupts injustice

In-volve
En-gage
En-lighten
Inter-be

Seek Truth
Speak Truth
Act Truth accordingly
Publicly
Non-violently
Like Jesus
Like King
Nhat Hanh
And Gandhi
Being the change that you wish to see

Reuse
Reduce
Recycle
Respect
Repair
The world

Change her
Care for her
Pour local
And global
Community all over her
Be a vessel
For spreading the light
Get up, get out,
And stand up for your rights

Share
Serve
Plant
Vigil
And sing

Liberation
Alleviation
Solutions
Revolution

Cultivated
and
Gravitated
Towards higher realms
Higher states and
Higher planes

All on board together
Rocket shipping
In the cosmos
We are tripping

Roots oriented
In the right directions
Unique are our perceptions
On our individual paths
We are practicing
Citizens in a ship

-anthony

Poem: The Quick Story of the World

A man’s death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in mankind;
And therefore never send to know
For whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee. -John Donne

Third world’s dying while
Second world’s crawling while
First world’s gunning
And running.

Force leads to profit,
Profit leads to wealth,
Wealth leads to greed,
Greed leads to corruption,
Corruption runs the world.

First world’s gunning
Third world’s running
Nowhere to hide
Second world’s in limbo.

It is a story well known by those who wallow:
Inconsideration, ignorance, misunderstanding
Perhaps?
NO.
It is the intention of the crat with his
Rat-a-tat-tat spoke scratchin at the back
Of those who wallow in their ghettos
Forced by those who care little of humanity
But would rather see a profit increase one
Half a percent stuck in place cause
There is no place for the other half,
Quarter, whole, they don’t care, they
Can change it all but they let them
Live in des pair; they push arms and
Take leg’s, rape minds, and pillage the
Most precious resource of them all,
Hope, dignity, promise, potential
Perhaps?
NO.
They went the way of the WTO and
Legalized the selling of people for profit
Because tis easier to own one’s workers
Rather than treat them like an equal
A brother, a friend, an acquaintance
A human.
There is no room for humanity in the
Marbled walls of the world’s headquarters
Because, after all, they must know what is
Best, after all, they do have all the money.
So because of this false sense of authority
[authority being perceived dominance over
Another human that is in every sense of the
Word equal to him or her or it. Bullocks]
They exploit the resources, people and
LIVES of those who were just unlucky enough
To be born outside of the “industrialized” world.
They care less about the fellowship of man
And more of their all mighty god
The all mighty Dollar.
The one that justifies murder hate, violence.
The one that fosters destruction, malice, ignorance.
The one that causes misery, pain, woe.
The one that we all praise.

And therefore
The world dies.
And do not send for me
For I already know:
The bell has tolled
It tolls for thee.


Enjoy the thought food
Power to the Peaceful!
-mike

Reflection: Kagyu Thubten Choling Tibetan Monestary

Sunday, Jan 25:
Celebration of Chinese New Year 2009
5 Hrs.

After lengthily journeying on foot from Vassar through Poughkeepsie, to its train station that transported me to Newburgh, I began yet another embarkment, to revisit Kagyu Thubten Choling Tibetan Buddhist Monastery. The walk was beautiful, littered with trees, and the frigid air was fresh feeling in lungs. The birds sang near today. I discovered a fallen, elongated, brown peas in a pod, which primitively became my shaker instrument. Walked and walked and walked and walked. I was relating in my mind to Carlo Carretto trekking, suffering, revalate-ing, and being empowered by spirit across Earth Mother’s Golden sands. And as Food Not Bombs Keith McHenry would say, “What a trip!”
This is a season of my life which has been highly spiritual in nature. Recently, I had a dream about reuniting with a long-lost friend who I used to negatively, and regularly conflict with. The dream was flowery. My friends name is Armin, and we were brotherly in love with each other in the dream I had. I was shown the fruits of my refuge in Buddha and the feeling that I felt was warmth. Buddha in my heart more opened, right mind and intentions have seemingly been expanding, pollinating, and blossoming. By Chogyam Trungpa , I have just read, Shambalah: The Sacred Path of The Warrior. I am yet not one, but I feel as if I am becoming. My intentions of visiting Kagyu are to be among warriors embodying gentleness, authenticity, fearless love, and selflessness. Trungpa’s “crazy wisdom” taught me that “drala,” or invoke-able magic, fearless love, begins from cleansing and purifying one’s self inner-ly. I intend to cultivate internal drala at Kagyu for the benefit of other beings. Drala, in its nature, once unfolding internally will manifest externally. First in the home, then in the family, and the final realm, that is community, for a more enlightened society.
At last when I arrived at Kagyu, I was greeted by nuns, and monks, and long lost friends. I was told that today was a very special day for me to be there, for it was Chinese New Year, o-nine, celebration. They told me of how they were just talking about me yesterday in remembrance of our cave chambers meditation retreat one year ago. Their greetings and expressions revealed to me that I am welcomed and loved here. Before I could ask my question, “How can I help?,” They were already asking me, for out of grace, it was in need. How spiritually this had occurred. Not before long we found ourselves out in the snows gathering, loading, transporting, unloading, and axe splitting firewood. There was a fire ceremony underway. In interconnectedness, collectively we made two fire pit sites. We made mountains of stacked, axed wood and placed crumbled, old papers within cracks. Out of necessity, the others had to leave and I was asked to complete jamming in papers. I found peace in solitude. Also, I found a special book in the garbage called Dharma Practice. I opened, and message from inside it read “Go now for the welfare and happiness of the man, out of compassion for the world, for the good, happiness, and welfare of gods and humans.” I am blessed to be here.
Came three o’clock and it was time to begin the Six-Armed Chadrupa Practice. Many gathered in the colorfully, radiant shrine. I prostrated to Buddah, then sat on a meditation mat facing the leading monks, and Lama Norla Rinpoche
A nun kindly gave me a booklet to follow along chanting, as we began the Mahakala (protector) prayers. Mahakalas are performed to clear away obstacles from the last year, to liberate us form them in the New Year to come. This was my second time following along chanting in Tibetan. Chanting is quick in speed, and challenging. I discovered that by following this symbol “/,” as a guide, I can follow along a little better, getting lost less often.
The chanting practice completed with a blessing and an offering of New Year’s medicine from Lama Norla. While I was waiting to receive, my friend David (who reminds me of Snow Lion when he meditates) and I were asked to help with the oiling of the fire pits outside as soon as we were finished. Neither of us were prepared with the proper white clothes, but a kind elder man had an abundance of them, and generously shared with us, making well sure that all were welcomed and included. I watched and learned how to approach, greet, receive, and depart until our turn eventually neared at the end of the line. Over the years I have heard so many special things about Lama Norla, and I have seen him wave smiling from afar, but this was the first time truly meeting him, a warrior, and I was livened in gratitude. Approaching mindfully in my steps, I felt his comfort illuminating the shrine, and I was not anxious or nervous, as I had expected to be. A true revealer of how the fruits of practice effect others. I kneeled down before him and his smile widened as his face wrinkled. “How are you?” He said it so genuinely. “Well,” I said, “How are you?” And he mothering-ly took the white cloth draping it to rest atop my shoulders, held my head in his hands, bent us both down in a bow, touching his balded forhead gently to mine, placed medicine crumbles in my palm, and gestures my depart with motion and golden smile. Felt nirvana. Love, happiness, and peace radiating in all ten directions.
Feeling high as the sky, David and I slipped outside from the shrine, to oil bless fires. David is experienced as a blesser, so I observed silently and appreciated. The pits were ignited and The Sür, Evening Fire Offering Ceremony was now happening. “Sür” is an offering to the 4 guests: the Buddhas & Bodhisattvas; Protectors; sentient beings; and those with whom we have karmic debts. It averts obstacles and sickness and is dedicated to those who are dying, beings in the Bardo realm suffering, and to beings with whom to which we have karmic debts. Thubten, which means “teacher” in Tibetan, described this to me to be in the essence of a celebration party for the deities. And that indeed it was.
Everyone reunited outside the monastery kitchen to continue chanting and be handed to carry giant food arrangements, beers, wines, and sodas into to the burning fires. Wasteful? I had these thoughts. Hey, they are always eating mindful small portions here I replied. Food and drink are of great need and desire to many suffering, and here we were offering them up like crazy. This is entirely new to me. Accept or un-accept? I thought of the holistic nature of the day, and the way of life at Kagyu, and my mind-heart opened to see it as an act of love through non-attachment, and self-less sharing. Beverages poured onto snow, circling rocks, and smoldering coals. Immaculate uncooked linguine designs, mountain berries from Tibet, and oranges with tooth-pic umbrellas in them, all in to the fires. Deities, we are in love with you, thank you for your presensce.
The day concluded in socialization while snaking on goldfish crackers. Since the monks live in the way of ahimsa, or harmlessness, they joked about liking the eating of these artificial animals. There is a great sense of humor there that I love to be around. Especially Lekshi, who will ask me questions such as, “How is your life?” Then when I respond “Good” he will say “You’re not supposed to have a wife! I asked about you wife not your life!” Lekshi is an amazing throat singer as well as a wealth of wisdom. He taught me to metaphorically not go through life focusing only one of my hands, but to witness the larger picture. We talked about the mysticism of Thomas Merton this time. I learned of his enlightened qualities along with his spiritual transformation and eastern journey. I relate to Merton in my similar roots in the church, and current journey into mystical and eastern worlds. Interestingly, I learned that Merton was to give a monumental speech on socialism and religion, just shortly after the time of his death.

Prophets get stoned
In history see
Jesus taught we
To hate not, but love them enemies
Oppressors,
Murderers
Torturers
And Infectors
You true nature is goodness
But has been misguided
A world divided
Is only illusion
One-ness through union
Manifests liberation
Erase
The hate
With a giant’s eraser
Now before later
Awake up
To join hands
Together one people
Together one land

-anthony

8 Years Gone

We are eight years
Gone from the wreck.
It is odd to see all
That once was is
Now Gone.
The pain I had on
My face that day is
Hard to think of.
Why did they rule
The way they did?
Why did they
Force change on us?
It is not in my mind
Now, it is gone.
The hurt I, NAY we,
Felt then is now gone.
I still do not know how
All this came to be.
I find that I am still
A bit in shock.
But that ship is at
Sea, and I will not see it.
Why did the court
Rule that way in
Bush v Gore?

That was a poem I wrote in my grammar, style, and editing class during an exercise where we had to write a passage using only one syllable words.

Enjoy the thought food
Power to the peaceful!
-mike