"3 Spring Zens"

(27)

“Dinosaur Zen” 

(Previously published as Television Zen July 10, 2015. Edited since.)

I was watching TV last night.

It was a movie about prehistoric times.

Although, it being prehistoric, 

How would they know?

A young woman with big breasts 

In a little costume 

Was fighting a dinosaur.

She had plenty of zen!

Her zen was in her bravery

As she fought the dinosaur.

And in her costume,

Which struggled to contain her.

Just in the nick of time a handsome muscleman 

In another tiny costume came along.

He quickly assessed the situation

And knew just what to do.

His zen was mighty!

His zen was the zen of valor!

He fought and slew the dinosaur.

Then he was kissed by the movie cavewoman 

With the big you-know-whats.

The camera made sure I saw

Them crushing against his manly chest,

Straining to break free from the tiny costume,

While the dinosaur 

In the background writhed and bled.

For him the straining was over.

Then as the music swelled 

Up came the words,

The End.

Hmmm.

I wonder where 

That dinosaur is now?

He had the most zen of all.

(30)

“Zen in Outer Space”

(Previously published Aug 28, 2015. Edited since.)

Is there zen in outer space?

Or is it just the sound 

Of no hands clapping?

It appears empty.

Yet it is fuller than we know.

It is even filled with things we cannot see,

But can only, 

For the time being,

Guess at.

Yes, outer space is 

Beautiful and mysterious.

Like zen is.

And patiently awaits 

Our further discovery.

Like zen does.

But, and here’s the difference,

Unlike outer space,

Zen is everywhere!

Yes! 

There is an endless supply of zen 

In the universe!

But only so much space.

(31)

“Zen in a Canna Leaf”

I saw some zen this morning, 

In sunlight 

Beaming through a canna leaf.

I try to be observant.

Especially in my garden,

Because you never know 

What you might see.

The sunlight is strong around here in the morning.

Strong enough 

To pass through a canna leaf anyway.

To pass through and nourish,

Leaving a trace 

Of beauty behind.

A miracle for my brain 

To ponder,

And my heart to delight in!

Thank you, creator!

For eyes and heart 

That see beauty 

All around me.

Beauty in the simplest things…

The normally unnoticed things…

The unchancy things…

Thank you for that beauty, too!

And for the understanding 

That flows from Zen.

“What is zen?”

What is zen?

Zen is the way to find a way.

It is the journey and the destination.

It is the empty cup’s emptiness.

It is the form of formlessness.

It is me.

And it is you.

But if you ask me again,

And I had to attempt an answer

That we could understand,

Then I would say

The essence of zen,

As I comprehend it, 

Is to firstly understand that

You and I are as perfect 

As the gods could make us,

But in spite of that perfection 

There will always be pain

And suffering in this world.

That is the way things are.

Thankfully, there is a way 

To reduce our worldly suffering,

And it is called zen.

With zen, we recognize

The interconnectedness of everything,

Past present future,

And realize that our actions 

Have karmic consequences.

What goes around comes around,

As they say,

So it pays therefore 

Not to be an asshole.

Then we remember

That everything 

Is changing all the time,

And nothing, good or bad, lasts forever.

Because if we accept the impermanence of everything, 

We can learn to unattach ourselves 

From the (merely temporary) things and ideas 

In the world around us,

Making them far less important, 

And with this un-attachment to unimportant things

Live a freer, happier life.

After all, 

Whoever said we didn’t

Deserve to be happy?

Not me.

Nor my zen.

For we must create our happiness,

Bringing it out from within.

It doesn’t just fall from the sky.

Remember,

Loving people live in a loving world.

Hostile people live in a hostile world. 

Same world.

There’s other stuff too,

In this essence of zen.

The cultivation of a loving heart.

Compassion for all creatures.

Respect for the planet.

Respect for yourself.

Devotion to others.

Oh, and maybe vegetarianism too.

(Although this last is not strictly obligatory

In my personal essence of zen.)

But there’s no point

In listing anything else.

That’s probably enough for now.

Let me know when you’ve mastered these.

And I’ll think of some more.

Discarded Flower Zen

I found a flower today,

Laying upon a grass verge

That borders a busy highway.

It didn’t belong 

On the grass verge,

That was obvious. 

The flower was a type of orchid

Found on large, tropical trees

In southeast Asia.

Or more likely, in Florida where I live,

Found in floral bouquets

For sale in drugstores, near the checkout counter.

Automobiles on the busy highway 

Screamed by just a few feet away,

Unnerving me slightly.

I looked at the flower

And wondered,

“How did you get here?”

After all, everything has a story.

Even a discarded flower.

Then I looked up 

And noticed other flowers

Of the same type 

Scattered along the road’s edge,

And I assumed 

The flower I looked at

Was indeed once part 

Of a drugstore bouquet.

Thrown from a speeding car, I wondered?

Tossed out in anger to wilt at road’s edge,

While in the car a fighting couple 

Travelled on for miles and miles?

They fought all the way home, I imagined,

Him driving grimly and her crying, 

Both saying things they later regretted.

Yes, like all lovers do.

Even you and your lover, I’ll bet.

I know it’s true about me, and mine.

I gazed at the discarded flower by the side of the road, 

And a little sadness touched my heart.

Luckily, the terrifying scream 

Of hurtling automobiles

Just a few feet away 

Soon distracted me from this kind of thinking!

Get away, Sadness! 

I said to the feeling within myself,

And watch out for that speeding truck!

Happiness, 

However it came to exist,

Deserves my attention, too.

Let me enjoy 

This moment of beauty

While it lasts, 

Without fear or distraction.

As I should also 

Attempt to enjoy my life.

Then I looked 

With new, loving eyes of zen

At the beautiful, discarded flower,

And the noise and sadness

Of this world…

Melted into nothingness.

Three Ready Zens

Something Good is Bound to Happen

I’m a big fan of zen.

Once I realized what it was.

Funny, but I had it all along

And didn’t know it.

You have to relax 

And let the beauty of it

Come down and through

And into you, 

In order for it to work.

Sometimes, that’s the hard part.

Letting go and relaxing.

So don’t worry if it hasn’t 

Happened to you yet.

There’s still plenty of time.

Remember, whatever 

Should happen, will happen.

Just keep yourself ready.

Listen to your heart.

And read my zen poems.

If you do 

Then I guarantee

Eventually something good 

Is bound to happen

To at least one of us.

No Zen In That

Have you ever noticed how easy

It is to be critical 

In this imperfect world?

A world where most things are broken

To some degree or another?

Just look around you!

People are complaining all the time.

About everything!

It’s too old.

It’s too new.

It’s too cheap.

It’s too dear.

It’s too plain.

It’s too fancy.

It’s too …

But why go on?

Anything you can imagine,

Anything at all,

Isn’t good enough for somebody!

Sadly, being critical is an easy occupation.

But a rather difficult habit to break.

So let’s quit finding fault.

There is little zen in that.

Let’s see if we can find something 

More rewarding to turn our godlike

Comprehension upon, 

Instead of faultfinding.

After all, it is much more pleasant 

To look around and see 

The beauty that is everywhere…

Instead of the fear 

And pain and injustice and…

That is also everywhere.

Beauty and pain.

Both of these things exist

And have a place in the scheme of things.

Sometimes they exist side by side. 

Or even within each other.

How can that be?

It’s difficult to understand.

As human beings we must 

Live with contradiction.

That is our curse.

So sing! and be happy!

We’re all at fault!

Or said another way,

We are all faultless.

Because there is no perfection, 

Except perhaps in zen.

Hmmmm.

The perfection of zen.

That’s a big question…

For another time.

How Big?

“How big is your zen?”

A student once asked me.

“That’s an easy one,” I answered.

“My zen is very… er, big.

Or rather say it’s everywhere all around.

Or maybe never-ending is a better term for it.

All encompassing?

Hmmm.

I’m finding it a little 

Difficult to describe,” I admitted.

I was a little embarrassed

And wanted to change the subject.

So I added, “That’s zen for you!”

And shrugged my shoulders.

The students laughed,

And my ignorance 

Went undiscovered

For another day.

Wisdom is sometimes knowing

When you don’t know 

What you’re talking about.

Ah! 

There’s the zen.