Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Bard, Bardic and Bardo along the Hudson

oh, great bardic madhyamika buddhist monk in the heart of compassion along the hudson valley,

i do accept your wise and subtle teachings sans question. they are noble, concise and, of course, clearly cutting through spiritual materializm. toute suite!

they are full of the emptiness ('sunyata') that is at the core of our understanding of the universe. not to mention, our place within it.

in that regard, i don't think i am out of place to shout down the morning canyons of manhattan:

OM MANI PADME HUNG!!!

so loud, even big bob thurman sitting meditating at columbia university on the forms and nature of student dakinis dancing in front of him...

among whom ezi and i had dinner last night at a bustling, noisy, crowded, exquisitely collegiate bistro with scott and sochua's lovely and talented daughter, malika, a first year columbia student straight from 18 years in cambodia to the source of american academia.

like josh and ezi, another of these youthful, wise and observant blended souls whom, as parents, we have offered as our hopes and sacrifices to the 21st c..

OMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

down the through the ages as only van morrison could wail. rave on, van morrison. rave on!

illuminating the world's sacred heart and teachings through music for those of us without the time to read the holy texts.

yes, and yes again, let me say for through the cosmopolitans, lamb chops and tuscan wine reuniting us 'til 1 am along the sleepy hollow estates of the great hudson river with the conversation only subduing because of a one hour darkened drive to our evening rest stop in carmel with a 10 am tour at sarah lawrence the next morning, alas.

HUNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

says the teachings. the pure lotus rises through the muck, drama and forgetfulness of human existence. the heart of our noble quest for truth, clarity and love.

oh, yes, and did the buddha mention 'friendship'?

(it may be in one of those heterodox mahayana canons written in kashmir in the 7th c. with that bengali tantric influences referring to the nature of joy and freedom...)

the jewel in the lotus.

the jewel in the crown.

the jewel in our lives.

it was a very lovely and inspired evening.

there along the darkened shores of lethe,

oh, charon!

my eternal guide and companion.

2 comments:

Kittie Howard said...

In the Sixties, I was one of the first tourists in Nepal. Katmandu was vey quiet, very sleepy. No English or French or any other language. Very Nepalese, very nice and a wonderful experience. I returned in 1989 and found a congested city, billboards everywhere, litter, greedy merchants but, under it all, still some of the nicest people in the world.

Keith D. Leslie said...

Kittie, I didn't see your post before. Yes, K'du was special early on, very special. I only came in 1979, but it was much closer to the past then than it is now. By the late 80s so much had changed and it hasn't stopped. It's become it's own little Calcutta in the Himalaya -- but, as you say, very dear and often unspoiled people, especially in the rural communities.