06/23/2024 Practicing with Bodhisattvas by Rosemary Taylor

May I become at all times, both now and forever,
A guard for those who need protection,
A guide for those who have lost their way,
A ship for those with oceans to cross,
A bridge for those with rivers to cross,
A lamp in the darkness,
A resting place for the weary,
A healing medicine for all who are sick

And now as long as space endures,
As long as there are beings to be found,
May I continue likewise to remain
To drive away the sorrows of the world.

- from The Way of the Bodhisattva, by Shantideva





Maitreya Poem, by Lew Welch

At last, in America,
Maitreya, the coming Buddha
will be our guide (leader), and,
at last, will not be powerful, and
will not be alone…
Take it as simple prophecy.
Look into the cleared eyes of so many thousands,
young, and think:
Maybe that one?
That one?
That one?...
Look out. (The secret is looking Out.)
and never forgetting there are
phoney ones, and lost ones, and foolish ones,
know this:
Maitryea walks our streets right now.
(each one is one. There are so many of them.)
Look out. For him, for
her, for
them, for
these will break America as
Christ cracked Rome
(and just tonight
another one
got born!)