He sits in perfect posture, meditating …
Deep silence seeps through incense-perfumed space.
His almond eyes, half-closed, are contemplating
the vibrant Void, exploring ego’s trace.
I sit beside him, duplicate his posture,
the Buddha’s refuge as my very own;
in stillness, merged with him, absorbed in rapture,
sip nectar of sweet bliss by mind unknown.
Yet, like a slave, I’m chained to Buddha’s glory,
one can perceive me, though I don’t exist.
I’m faceless, mindless, heartless, have no story,
no one can kill me, though I don’t resist.
While I remain ignored, He gathers fame.
For I am Buddha’s shadow, without name.
Author notes
english sonnet in alternating iambic pentameter and tailless hexameter ...
inspired by the painting "l'ombre du bouddha"
by brigitte barberane :
http://www.artmajeur.com/barberane/
In a list
Please tell me what you think
Comments
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Brilliant
Combining the Buddha, with the purely western notion of the Sonnet is a wonderful idea. I loved the line "His almond eyes, half-closed, are contemplating
the vibrant Void" The notion of non-duality, a void which is vibrant, that emptiness which teams with life. It all worked quite beautifully together "Yet, like a slave, I’m chained to Buddha’s glory," that notion of the man clinging to an idea will never find it. Even tying yourself to the Buddha glory hinders your own freedom. And yet you try and successfully loose yourself in this work mingling yourself and the Buddha, which of course is the point. Thanks for another interesting read.
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thank you so much for your words of appreciation, "Tame James"
...
you seem to be very well informed about this subject ... my own understanding is rather intuitive ... I sometimes even don't understand the meaning of my own poems
... therefore I am especially delighted when an erudit like you has the kindness to stop by in order to share his knowledge and wisdom with me ...
funny thing: remember what you recently said about yourself ? that you considered yourself as a combination of a fun-house-mirror and a flash-light ?
last night I dreamt of receiving a parcel that contained a magnifying glass with an integrated flash-light! speak about interconnectedness ...
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HOODWINKED!
This is astoundingly written with perfection; leaving me, as an editor, without one word to suggest to make it even better. You are very talented AND, while talent is not enough on its own, you have honed and polished that talent so that its shine is almost blinding. Well done!
Luv in Christ, BonnieQ
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may the blessings you have offered me through visiting my pages return to you a thousandfold ... encouraging a fellow being in his/her creative endeavors is such a selfless action ... thank you for having been a messenger of Divine Grace for me ...
much love,
marion
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Grasping at the wind
the way of the world
everything appears to be vanity under the sun or is it?
it is hard to loose that shadow
amazing gift you have
precious and outstanding
God bless my rainbow sister...
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your poems are not easily understood by the common mind...it needs a deeper intuition of the cosmic and psychic being (Paramatma and Jeevatma)in the universe ..i stand in awe of your poems apart from the technical and physical aspects...
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Ah but in attachment, comes suffering. Else it would not matter. Wonderful lesson. The images full of a vibrancy and energy that lifts this from the common run of meditations.
Strong parable without making obvious the lessons to be learned. A delight to contemplate after reading.
Love, Tom B.
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wunderful
nobody can kill me even if I don`t resist,
yes, it would be like the attempt to kill the wind with a sword!
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vielen dank, liebe ingrid, für deinen willkommenen besuch !
ich habe heute an dich gedacht, während wir mit den hunden im wald spazieren gingen ... da kamst du ganz einfach in meine gedanken, und ich fragte dich, ob du die erfahrung von "nicht-selbst" kennst und beschreiben könntest ... ich habe irgendwie keine worte, aber es ist so als ob es in dieser leere nicht einmal das hochheilige "selbst" geben würde ... kein "selbst" als "etwas" ...
ich mag deine metapher mit dem schwert das den wind töten will !
es ist eigentlich eine gute antwort auf meine frage
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Witty
I like this very much! For the first two stanzas I was sure that this was a student of meditation speaking, and then in the third I became confused by the clash of previous perception with new information.
Your title told me exactly what this was about, and the couplet confirmed it, but there I was in my own world... we are not students, shadows nor Buddhas, either. Well done and lovely writing!
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yes, the identification with the shadow ("nobody") disappears together with the belief of being "somebody" ... all concepts have to disappear ...
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Such an important idea...selflessness... and not in the sense of a lack of identity, necessarily, but more in the sense of a humbled acquiescence to that which is greater than ourselves, for therein are we both lost and found. It is a paradox, of course, but you have penned it with you usual graceful beauty.
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yes, I like the way you have expressed it ...
all ego-identification, no matter how "glorious" or how "humble", must disappear in order to realize our true nature, free from concepts ...
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the back ground is irritating
pl change to make it eye catching one. -
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thank you for your suggestion ...
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This was a wonderful read!
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and yours was a wonderful visit, my friend ...
thank you ...
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When ever I feel the need for spiritual poetry you seem to know and post a brilliant piece. This is beautiful. You have such a wonderful gift of softening your poetry by scattering in feminine rhymes and in this poem it made me feel Buddha's Shadow.
Love,
Amera♥
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you are so sweet, dancing tiger-fairy ...
I am just contemplating the shadow of your tireless red-haired-buddha-goddess-avatar hiding behind her ...
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Wonderfull
To be Buddha's shadow, what a wonderful idea. To gather fame is just food for the Ego, that makes Buddha's path to enlightenment more difficult than yours, you lucky thing you,LOL.
David XX
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like always, you captured the essential message behind my words ...
maybe, the ordinary minded person would interpret this verse as a complaint, although it isn't ...
we actually bought this painting, hubby suggested we share the price and asked which part of the canvas I would like to buy ... I decided to go for the shadow and left my poor hubby with the buddha ... we wives are really cruel, aren't we ?
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maa
No not cruel, just way out in front where savvy is concerned, The bible story may say that Eve came out of Adams rib, but we both no that biologically, the female came first. The idea of maleness is in geological time a relatively new concept. Hence we are a bit slow on the uptake as far as awareness is concerned. To put it bluntly, You have us sussed
Both your poems are wonderful and I may have to study them again to absorb the wonderful learning therein
David XX
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