Sunday December 21
*
A glimpse down
out across the open sky
to the light of my long day
slight gentle beautiful
determined bright one
firmly alone firmly herself
to quietly remind me
that not so far away
for we two
our warm and bright
future day
and then to say
to tell of those wondrous shapes
above the high cliffs of the Sutlej
to whence
we just have come
from the mandala chapel
of the King Yeshe O
Far out upon this expanse
to the sharp squinting glint
of the mountain light
there they are
row on row 108 in each
hundreds of them in all
Each of them a monument
to a people's faith
each speaking of potential
for pure compassionate mind
For Tibetans say
a sparrow
once carried pebbles from a mountain
to some day make it a little hill
easy to walk upon
as so the human mind can be
developed in the compassionate way
Those small and delicate figures
Tsa tsa spilling out upon the ground
from one alas that’s shattered there
from the work of an angry greedfilled mind
each gentle pressed with patient hands
into the shape of a deity
inscribed with prayers perfect line on line
that each had once inspired
From them we can understand
the forces here from which we can
receive our shamanic aid
dimensions of the infinite mind
still resonant in this place
Vijaya she who ensures long life
Wrathful White Tara opponent to inner dangers
as great as those outer strife
Bhuva traya calana tara
earth mother she protector from wild lands harm
Sarasvati music and poetry’s muse
Red Tara to protect from earth's turmoil
to protect human life that it not lose
Maha prajna paramita
she who bestows
keenness to the mind
Green Tara she who grants protection
to those whose acts and intents were good
despite their danger filled circumstance
Look gentle beautiful one
there are thousands of them
and among them pages of manuscripts
of wisdom gleaned from centuries
long of contemplated
infinitude
worth so much more
than the riches that were sought
Even still gentle one
not this so wonderful
as your determined beauty
with swift uplifted grace
that endures with patient dignity
this that I see in you
on this cold mid afternoon of
early winter day
Lotus blossoms rest
upon the window sill
and so we wait
two as one
we our effort
real and lasting
slight gentle
beautiful one
December 19
* courtesy of A Luminous Diamond (Bright) Crystal Show productions.
reference material for the poem is courtesy of the Footprint Tibet handbook by Gyurme Dorje.