Summer Haiku fest 2015
This summer, some members of the sangha had fun creating and sharing haikus. Here is a sampling of them. By Gina Matkin (1&2), Steve Brown(3&4), Mike McMahon(5&6)
Morning thunderstorm
Soft rain kissing the flowers Nourishing the Earth 
Bouquet of beauty is an inside job so smile and be who you are. 
Be a summer day Be warm and green and lazy Be June's sweet, soft song |
Oh beautiful moon In your face I see my own Smiling at the world 
No separate self.
Knowing impermanence smiles. Bell of mindfulness. 
I wear the brown robe
I am no one with nothing thus the world is mine 
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Untitled by ahorsewithnoname
Pushing and pulling ego.
Manufactures a restless irritability.
Rubs two sticks of discontentment
Sparks a small flame and catches.
Nothing here and now is useful
For its grand design requires fuel.
Gather yesterday's scrap.
Tomorrow's leafy raw material.
Stoke the molten furnace with Mind's discrimination.
Feed the beast. Louder now!
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!
Shaping grand structures of things
Out of no thing. Insatiable is my name.
Constant care and feeding required.
Pay attention.
Eventually it may consume itself.
Alabaster paths bedamned.
Ashes to ashes.
Dust to fine, powdery dust.
Manufactures a restless irritability.
Rubs two sticks of discontentment
Sparks a small flame and catches.
Nothing here and now is useful
For its grand design requires fuel.
Gather yesterday's scrap.
Tomorrow's leafy raw material.
Stoke the molten furnace with Mind's discrimination.
Feed the beast. Louder now!
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!
Shaping grand structures of things
Out of no thing. Insatiable is my name.
Constant care and feeding required.
Pay attention.
Eventually it may consume itself.
Alabaster paths bedamned.
Ashes to ashes.
Dust to fine, powdery dust.
God Unrealized
By Brett Saunders
In the gaps between thoughts
I exist
Between breaths
Between heartbeats
Between blinks of an eye
Do not mourn my passing
for in life I lived mere moments
Glimpses of the unmade I came to be.
At the KC Fall Retreat (2013) with Joanne Friday
By Mike McGann
There is a story of three blind men, each asked to
examine and then describe an elephant. The first felt the elephant’s trunk and said an elephant was like a snake. The second felt its leg and said an elephant must be like a tree. The third felt its side and said both were wrong, an elephant is like a wall. So, here is the dilemma. Which part of the elephant to describe? OK, let’s start with the trunk or the head. The head or the stored experience and wisdom was our Dharma Teacher, Joana Friday. Joana came to us from the East Coast, Road Island to be exact, and she carried with her a devout love of both New York and the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh. Combining her background of instruction....under Thich Nhat Hanh and her own experiences, she guided us on a refreshingly clear and inspiring journey through the basic tenants of Buddhism. She has a wonderful sense of humor and gentle touch in her teaching. Above all, she is clear and her experiences in the practice added insight onto wisdom. 
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In describing the legs of our elephant or its support, Joana taught from both the Buddha and Thich Nhat Hanh. She taught of the sorrow which accompanies fear.She gave us tools for overcoming the fears and lessening the sorrow. She would repeat a simple fact. “We are the luckiest people on the earth.”
Regardless of our financial and social status, relationship with family, friends or lovers, we have everything we needed to be happy at this very moment. We discussed the impermanence of life and the importance to live in the moment. We discussed the five mindfulness trainings that protect us from the basic ailments of the worl which causes so much suffering. The body of our elephant was the body of the Sangha. The security and peace one finds wit in the unity and brotherhood/sisterhood of the Sangha touched everyone. One morning, a few of us from Honey-Locust sat on the balcony talking and laughing. Yes, we were supposed to be in noble silence, but sometime not being perfect is simply perfect. The autumn colors were vibrant, the cool air refreshing and the night moon so large I thought it might drop on our heads…..all in all….a wonderful experience. |
Beth Draper at the European Institute of Applied Buddhism (EIAB)
Sangha member, Beth Draper, travelled this summer to Germany to attend a Thich Nhat Hanh retreat at the European Institute of Applied Buddhism (EIAB). During WWII the buildings and campus comprising the EIAB were a mental hospital run by the Nazis. Many of the buildings and decor were retained but transformed into more hopeful, life-filled symbols. Below is her account and some pictures.
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Beth recieving the 5 Mindfulness Trainings
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I traveled to the European Institute of Applied Buddhism (EIAB) in June to see Thich Nhat Hanh. Slowly day by day my heart became more open listening to his dharma talks. I practiced looking deeply at the roots of my anger , and my fear, and smiling at them. I practiced smiling at the joy of understanding, the joy of compassion, and the joy of forgiveness. Mindful breathing helped me calm down painful emotions. I gained new insights of understanding and compassion in this wholesome environment.
The EIAB is beautiful and pleasant but very tragic things happened there seventy years ago. You could say it has lots of mud to grow flowers. Transformation and healing are taking place. It is in the outside surroundings, and wholesome seeds are planted inside people as well. I have new seeds to help me in my practice. I am so grateful for this wonderful experience!
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A Page from Grace's India Journal
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I enjoyed the daily walk to and from school with the 220 kids and their red and blue backpacks with the Sacred Heart on them! I got used to eating rice. I enjoyed learning to live without the amenities I was used to in the US. The kids helped me cope with hand washing clothes and cleaning my room, with toting hot water from the kitchen when I wanted to bathe. The kids were very interested in me ... my hair, my history, my life, my humor, my
whiteness, and my being an elder woman who could walk without a cane! They were good to me. They loved photos. They love to sing and teach me their songs. They had a huge need for relationship, for time and attention. They blessed me so much with their energetic joyousness, their talents, their intelligence, their unconditional and hungry love. They were hungry and uncomplaining. They loved it when I bought them meat for my going away feast, and they cooked it themselves. They played and worked with great vigor. They had no toys and I was like a toy to them - as I love to play! 
They taught me so much about Nagaland, about India, about appreciation. I could also tutor English, a little keyboard piano, and even helped some kids decipher their Math. I made myself a friend. I loved and respected the staff persons who helped make Eden Gardens and Sacred Heart school run so smoothly, especially Sister Jolly, Father Raymond, and the kitchen ladies. They made me so at home. They gave me so much. They were grateful I was with them. It was all so amazing to me.
Many of these kids are complete orphans. They don't know that they are poor. All of them are destitute materially and flush spiritually. They are tribal people, so many of them have relatives in their home villages. Some are from single parents who are too poor to feed and educate their kids. They fend for themselves, are very self-sufficient, and help the littler ones. They absolutely love Eden Gardens and Father Raymond. I can not wait to return. These kids deserve opportunity for further education and they want it desperately. I came back to Omaha with a perfect calm, and I have a new home. |
Haiku ahorsewithnoname
You try and sit still.
Ego pulls a gun and starts
Shooting at your feet.
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Bang! Bang! Dance monkey!
Dance you monkey-minded ape!
Smile. Pay him no mind. :)
You try and sit still.
Ego pulls a gun and starts
Shooting at your feet.
==
Bang! Bang! Dance monkey!
Dance you monkey-minded ape!
Smile. Pay him no mind. :)
Dinner with the Honey Locust Sangha
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I bowed, and took a moment to breathe in, and out, and check in with my body. I sat at the end of the table, between the fireplace and the door to the outside deck. Each was a few feet to either side of me. A wintry mix had been falling and the deck was rapidly collecting an inch or two. Taking stock of my body, I felt the cool left side in contrast to the toasty, wonderfully-warm, right side
near the fire. I felt my feet firmly on the floor. I gained that whole-body-at-once sense that one sometimes gets where I could feel everything all at once. Then I brought my focus to my breathing. I breathed in and out a few times, and raised my fork. All of this had taken place in the space of a few moments, and already the present moment awareness was so clear and intense as to be dazzling. I think I was the only one who brought a dish not home-made, as I was staying in a hotel and had no time or facility for cooking. I brought a pretty nice Tabbouleh from Whole Foods, and it was good, but lacked that home-made-quality that the other dishes had. The other dishes were each amazing! I didn't get to try everything, but I had a spinach salad that was spectacular, some amazing asparagus with roasted potatoes, some sort of delicious tomato soup I think. And several other items. Each of them were wonderful. Even with the concentrated effort at slowing my body and mind down before starting, I found I was eating quickly at first. I slowed more. I took a bite, placed the fork down, chewed mindfully tasting the flavors of each of these dishes. Sometimes I was aware of the overall flavor, at other times I was keenly aware of the flavors individually. I was aware of the textures. I was aware of all of the elements and human effort that was contained within each bite. The ten minutes seemed to last for hours, and I mean that in a good way. Hours of delicious awareness. I was aware of the room. The other practitioners eating at their various rhythms. The sounds in the house. The sounds from outside, though muffled by the slushy mix, were present. My favorite part was the ever present contrast of temperatures between the left and right sides of my body due to my fortunate seat by the fire. There was the low hiss of the fire. The feeling of the fork in my hand and the fabric of my jeans in the absence of the fork, as I placed my hand on my knee. All of this, and much more. And it was beautiful. Over all of that, like the snow covering the deck outside, was a sense of deep gratitude for being invited and welcomed by this lovely Sangha, also a sense of gratitude for this practice that has so altered my life. And, over the top of even those feelings, another feeling that is more difficult to describe. I can only best describe it as a connecting energy of some sort. You often get this feeling when you meditate with a group, I think. I do anyhow. This energy is one of the many reasons, and certainly - in my mind - the primary one, which makes a true live Sangha so valuable. There is a quality to mindfulness as a group of human beings, side by side, that creates a sort of feedback loop. A sort of humanity fueled Tesla Coil, or Resonant Transformer, that electrifies, intensifies and transforms the energy one cultivates on one's own. "Tesla Coil (Resonant Transformer): the near field wireless transmission of electrical energy between two coils that are tuned to resonate at the same frequency. The equipment to do this is sometimes called a resonant or resonance transformer." I think, if you wanted to sound just a little sappy, you could label this poorly with a single word. Love. |
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The Trouble with Too
Mike McGann We love too little, we fear too much Afraid that the others won't like us and such. We talk too much and we listen too little, The answer can never be found in the middle. We work at a living too much, but too little on living. We hoard too much wealth, with too little giving. We have too little value in too many things, Bangles and ribbons and gilded heart strings. We have too many classrooms, with too little taught, Way too much preaching, with too little thought. We have too much knowledge, without any wisdom, There is far too much hatred and too many isms. We have too many ipads and not enough books Too many eaters and not enough cooks. We have too many boarders with too many nations Too little peace and soul's meditation. 
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Musings on a Sleepless Spring Night Mike McMahon You and I And the stars and the rivers and the sky are together creating this present moment of being. And for this moment, love. We don't know what it is- the only thing that is, ... or ever was or ever will be. . . this moment of life we are living- love and mystery. |