Tag: Buddhism

Poetry by Patrick JenningsJul 14, 201812:44 pm

Upon These Shoulders, Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand

Choices

Upon my shoulders
Rest a life-span’s choices

Some for good
Some for naught
Most with barely
Any thought

A good many
I regret
But the life
Which made them
I do not

I learned
I grew
I fell down

I got back up

Poetry by Patrick JenningsJun 15, 20182:22 pm

Boots

Inside
The chanting
The texts
Stripping away
Layer upon layer
Of being
Seeking
At the centre
The non-being
That is everything

Outside
The first layer

Architecture by Patrick JenningsJun 14, 20188:32 pm

Buddhas All in a Row, Kek Lok Si Temple, Penang, Malaysia

Naming is the Origin of all Particular Things

Only when I resist the name a thing has been given
Can I discover the true nature of the thing

Poetry by Patrick JenningsApr 13, 20187:00 am

Buddha Subduing Mara, Wat Shri Chum, Sukhothai, Thailand

Awakening

In the blurry fog
Of Western Christianity
In which there seemed
Oh so much hypocrisy
The gentle touch
Of Eastern thought
Guided me
Along a different path
Straight to the core
Of Christ’s own heart

Poetry by Patrick JenningsMar 29, 20188:05 am

Curious Young Monk, Lagrangsi Monastery, Xiahe, Gansu Province, China

Curiosity

Into the deepest shadows
I peer
Before entering

Initiate
Expectant
With trepidation

But driven
By curiosity
And possibility

Poetry by Patrick JenningsMar 23, 20187:00 am

This Golden Touch

This golden touch
I reach for Earth
Connect to it
And all that is
With quiet mind
Become as one
With everything

Poetry by Patrick JenningsJun 22, 20174:51 pm

Transient Space

Transient space between
Fingertip and presence

Connection
Transition

Evil subdued
Peaceful detachment

Poetry by Patrick JenningsMar 27, 20178:17 pm

Divine Smile

She reminds me
Of the many Buddhas I’ve seen

In Thailand
Malaysia
China
Japan

Though, not the laughing Buddha
The plump one
In the midst of
A rollicking guffaw
No, not that Buddha

Rather, the somber, reflective one

The one it seems
The weight of the world
Rests lightly
On his androgynous shoulders

Poetry by Patrick JenningsDec 14, 20167:00 am

Armchair of Golden Dreams

Sometimes I just sit back
In my armchair of golden dreams
To take in all the splendour
The view from there is wonderful

To a practitioner of Tendai
Everything is wonderful

~ Saichō
9th Century Japanese Buddhist monk
Founder of Tendai school of Buddhism

Poetry by Patrick JenningsOct 9, 201611:47 am

The Nirvan of Shakyamuni Buddha, Giant Buddha Temple, Zhangye, Gansu Province, China

Healing ~ Pic and a Word Challenge #58

0n my life’s journey
Science and logic and reason
Taught me all the many ways
I was wounded and broken

But it was not until
I met the Buddha on the road
That I began to heal