ETERNAL PERFECT BELOVED

Book 6


THE PEARL TREE

eric solibakke

agora online html edition
agora press
Oslo, Norway
second edition 1998
1994, 1998 © eric solibakke

<<<:OM:>>>

to the one without a second
who through the force of irresistible love
awakens every individual to divine wholeness,
the only one worthy of worship

peacefully truthfully lovefully




contents


the pearl tree

  1. mind resembles the enormous
  2. swimming in the sea of oneness
  3. pulled between opposites like a trampoline
  4. just as a sweater with many different parts
  5. you know i don't like cars parked in my living room
  6. dressed in the garments of personal history
  7. maya tries to divide us
  8. butterflies of every season
  9. though i am hardly a spark
10. mind is like a granary of seed thoughts
11. every duality in consciousness divides within me
12. illusion stands on two feet
13. i don't ask you to break your silence
14. without exception all originates in me
15. mankind clings to the back
16. never mind the dreams that flutter through
17. you are myself -- i cannot be separate from you
18. the golden rain of grace soothes a bothered heart
19. my treasure chest overflows with riches
20. like a sprinkler on top of your head
21. in the intense furnace of divine love
22. god shuns an empty mind
23. false self, which is the world
24. to embrace you is suicide for the false self
25. the false self searches for the true self
26. even while resting in no possible separation
27. there's a certain corner of your smile
28. swallow the guru whole
29. the taste of oneness satisfies every hunger
30. the only face that satisfies
31. you glide down from pure truth
32. odd, fresh, striking, dangerous
33. oh sustainer
34. we want to love you
35. the whole world waits for the moment
36. before one can appreciate silence
37. deeper than dreamless sleep
38. the path to you begins everywhere
39. consciousness is a vehicle
40. no matter how far one wanders
41. one pass key opens all locks
42. that single drop of rain
43. an enlightened mind resembles a golfer
44. no matter what goes on in illusion
45. i see only my mind and its consequences
46. the infinite ocean swims around in itself


sea rose

47. the voyage of self discovery
48. the hand cannot touch you
49. though silence is your highest teaching
50. oh beloved, you squeeze me, you press me
51. struggle as one may, swim like a champion
52. i am the center of each and every thing
53. in the mind and out of the mind at the same time
54. when freedom binds itself
55. mind tethered to oneness roams freely
56. what you see and hear of me is illusion
57. i created the world
58. everything i meet
59. i've always been unconsciously one with everything
60. what's the use in cultivating opinions
61. every bit of creation is me
62. this world of harmless shadows struts its drama
63. like the moon i'm not very bright
64. the real ocean has no surface, no waves
65. after one wave comes another
66. real ocean
67. i harvest imperishable fruit
68. the unity of god can only be seen
69. until realization
70. the whole of life is preparation
71. not even the most outrageous behavior
72. this woman howling with terror in a storm of tears
73. we all thought you had left us
74. when you see the beauty of his face
75. the creations of artists inspire the soul
76. the gods and even god himself has been kind to me
77. you turn the sinner into a winner
78. the soul warmth of love human and divine
79. oh heart of oneness, to play the game
80. from eternal oneness arise all contrast and conflict
81. in this world full of
82. why all the fuss? why not bliss?
83. in an ocean of perfect stillness
84. help me see the truth of oneness
85. write not only poems directed to
86. if you wish to write some words or lines
87. a trapped mind seeks constantly for release
88. no matter who you think you are
89. sitting on the bank of the river
90. oh single-drop ocean without shore
91. truth inheres in every human consciousness
92. from certain points of view
93. in the center of balance in consciousness
94. i dreamed that jewels were stolen
95. aristotle's eyes were fixed on the world
96. in the capitalist world, gold was the unit of value
97. time itself traveling at the speed of light
98. monkey on a rope
99. a single drop contains the rain
100. a flock of opinions and judgments
101. divine love gives words their sense
102. does a boat get tired of bouncing on the waves?
103. i leave these tracks of sound behind me


"Combine this with the Ocean of What We Were
Before Creation.
        Roar the Lion-Knowledge.
Write this with gold Ocean-Ink,
so that whoever reads it
can grow in the Spirit."

     -- Jelaludin Rumi, MATHNAWI
      Trans. Coleman Barks, 1990, Delicious Laughter, p. 87




the pearl tree


  1. eternal perfect beloved

    mind resembles the enormous
    plumbing system of a big city.

    god resembles the water which comes,
    let's say, from a huge lake in the mountains
    and passes through pipes and tubes
    of all different sizes, down to the most minute,
    to serve the industrial, domestic, civic
    and commercial life of the city's inhabitants.

    it's frozen, dyed, polluted, flushed, boiled, drunk
    and put to every imaginable use.

    in spite of the great diversity of its applications
    while passing through the maze of urban plumbing,
    it never alters its water nature
    nor ever loses its ability to flow together.

    as one single water it enters the drainage system
    of increasingly larger pipes leaving the city.
    as one water it flows into the river
    and onward on its way to the sea.

    the pearl tree

  2. eternal perfect beloved

    swimming in the sea of oneness
    under the surface of mind's variety,

    seeing the beauty of ugliness
    and the ugliness of beauty as one,

    knowing the truth of illusion
    and the illusion of truth as one,

    experiencing the freedom of bondage
    and the bondage of freedom as one.

    the pearl tree

  3. eternal perfect beloved

    pulled between opposites like a trampoline,
    the mind flies up and down
    performing all sorts of rolls, flops and twists
    and other astonishing tricks in the air.

    it's full of zing and snap,
    and to a certain extent it's exhilarating and fun.
    but ordinary mind can't stop or rest
    except in moments of deep sleep.

    if you unhook a number of springs on one side,
    you risk being thrown dangerously in that direction.
    this is the condition of ordinary mind,
    which clings to one pole of opposites,
    ignoring the others,
    without the balance of wholeness.

    if you unhook springs exactly opposite each other,
    the trampoline loses a measure
    of its overall responsive force in a balanced way.

    if you unhook every set of springs two by two
    around the entire periphery,
    the trampoline loses all its force.

    the tension of every single set of opposites is released
    and the mind lets its power go.
    being is there with all its potential
    but no tensions give life to the mind.
    such is the condition of nirvana.

    having realized the life-giving properties
    of the tension between opposites,
    one can connect them up again two by two
    and fly confidently up and down.
    all of mind's fancy tricks and trials
    simply demonstrate the source of energy and rest.

    the pearl tree

  4. eternal perfect beloved

    just as a sweater with many different parts
    like neck, sleeves, cuffs, back, front and so on,
    is knitted with a single yarn,
    so is the mind's variety of different parts
    made up from the single truth of oneness.

    just as needles knit the garment
    so does the interplay of viewpoints knit the mind.

    the pearl tree

  5. eternal perfect beloved

    you know i don't like cars parked in my living room,
    yet you leave a white renault here for days on end.

    i squirm with aggression.
    i want to squeeze drops of superglue in your locks,
    ram a potato up your exhaust pipe
    and paint a hand on the windshield giving you the finger.

    most of all i want to wrap your whole car
    in brown 3" mylar tape around and around like a tight mummy.
    it'll resemble a piece of modern art, chic, unusual.
    my living room'll be a kind of sculpture garden.
    i should advertise in the newspaper and charge admission.

    but you parked this car here to humiliate me
    and bring me to my knees, didn't you, beloved?
    you know i'm more interested in winning inner freedom
    than outer battles.
    you know i won't do anything with your damn renault
    but eat my aggression like bitter plums
    from the tree of thwarted desires.

    when every last negative thought
    has been tasted and swallowed,
    i'll open up the space of my living room
    for you to park any time you want.
    then you'll probably disappear.
    in any case, it won't make any difference to me.
    by your grace i'll be free.

    the pearl tree

  6. eternal perfect beloved

    dressed in the garments of personal history,
    all in their shyness look at themselves in the mirror
    without removing their shabby costumes.

    a few grow bolder.
    they remove an article or two of clothing
    and see a different person.

    very few remove every shred of covering
    and behold the reality of god in human form.

    yet eventually all
    reach that place of unadorned truth.

    the pearl tree

  7. eternal perfect beloved

    maya tries to divide us,
    wants to separate you from me
    by using your words to create doubt.
    maybe i fail to please you with these poems.
    surely silence is the highest praise.

    my heart sinks.
    your displeasure wounds worst of all.
    sweet love turns nasty like cold slime.
    maya's in her element, having a good time.

    yes, it's true there are no words in love divine,
    bliss is silent, truth can't be shaped in sound.
    nothing there is real.
    truth and love cast shadows and people write them down.
    only shadows move across these pages,
    shadow actors in a shadowland,
    shadow marks in shadow sand.

    no wonder you're not impressed.
    no shadow-merchant you,
    you make no deals for a pretty word
    even if it sounds true.
    you make a different offer, saying "things
    that are real are given and received in silence."

    matter is far denser shadow than words could ever be.
    body actions don't come close to love divine.
    but just as i praise you with shadow sounds
    i also act within the thickness of the matter plane.
    thank you thoughts combine with thank you words
    combine with thank you actions,
    all shadows sure and maya play.

    oh beloved, by your grace these thank you notes
    overflow the heart as shadows of love divine.
    am i old fashioned, hung up on things sophomoric?
    for ages i whispered to you a promise
    that i wouldn't hoard your gifts,
    that whatever you gave me would pass on to all.

    am i buying maya's game? is there more than one?
    you yourself woke me up and trained my eye to see
    that no separation is possible between sun and shadow.
    where do shadows come from? what are they made of?
    there's nothing here anyway other than you yourself
    who are the peace of truth and love divine.

    you are who i really am,
    the very source of all i think and say and do.

    these thank you notes
    and these words of praise you send yourself
    will always be,
    as long as brahma breathes and there's light to see.

    the pearl tree

  8. eternal perfect beloved

    butterflies of every season
    flap one wing in the light
    and one in the dark.

    to see their great beauty,
    loop the dark around the light
    and tie a graceful bow.

    now there's a worthy christmas gift
    no matter when your birthday comes.

    the pearl tree

  9. eternal perfect beloved

    though i am hardly a spark
    compared to the avatar's blazing sun,
    much comfort comes from knowing
    that my spark, however feeble or unequal
    to the task of driving away the night,
    flickers with the same substance
    as his immeasurable radiance.

    the pearl tree

  10. eternal perfect beloved

    mind is like a granary of seed thoughts.
    when placed in fertile earth,
    watered and sunned, they reach harvest
    in the food chain of higher conscious life.

    those who do not know god
    have not yet explored the full range of consciousness
    nor exercised the full capacity of intelligence
    to distinguish between temporary manifestation
    and the eternal source.

    at one time or another
    every man and woman on the street
    will awaken in a flood of recognition
    and say the same words that i speak.

    the seed of unity
    sprouts, flowers and fruits through the ages
    to this day of harvest in our time.

    the pearl tree

  11. eternal perfect beloved

    every duality in consciousness divides within me
    in order to build the worlds in creation,
    and every one unites within me to liberate me
    in the heart of god's divine love.

    love sources all substance in the universe,
    first as thought, then energy, then matter.

    physical, emotional and mental unity
    within an individual reflects
    planetary, cosmic and universal unity in nature.

    right out beyond the most distant galaxy,
    this unity is soul and that unity is oversoul,
    and nothing in existence but ignorance
    can set those unities apart.

    the pearl tree

  12. eternal perfect beloved

    illusion stands on two feet
    shifting from side to side.
    reality stands on one
    as solid as the sky.

    the pearl tree

  13. eternal perfect beloved

    i don't ask you to break your silence,
    not even with the word of words.
    i ask rather, oh beloved,
    let me hear your silence truly.
    let the message of your silence penetrate
    throughout this noisy consciousness.

    don't break your silence, oh silent one,
    rather break my noise.

    of what use are words
    if i can't hear your silence?

    true to your promise
    let me hear your voice of omnipresent silence
    that announces without beginning or end:
    am i god, god am i, i am god, god i am.

    the pearl tree

  14. eternal perfect beloved

    without exception all originates in me,
    restlessly expresses the enormous variety of me,
    and without ever being anything other than me
    finally leads all consciousness to me.

    in this place where no difference can be found,
    reality and illusion are one and the same.
    no separation is possible.

    once consciousness distinguishes true self from false,
    there's no need to rip out the root of illusion
    as if it were a weed or worse yet a foul poison plant.

    will you take the toy away from infant god
    and make him sit still in a desert?

    true self enjoys the endless imagination of god's play
    in the great garden of his creation.

    the pearl tree

  15. eternal perfect beloved

    mankind clings to the back of a four-legged behemoth
    whose huge feet scarcely move:
    buddhism and hinduism in front, islam and christianity in back.
    the elephant of world religion marches on four slow feet.

    the pearl tree

  16. eternal perfect beloved

    never mind the dreams that flutter through
    the night mind like refugees without credentials.
    who knows where they come from or where they're going
    and what's in the bundles on their backs?

    never mind the thoughts that stand
    like authorities in uniform,
    directing traffic at the crossroads
    and pronouncing law in court.
    they command the media and control
    the keys and codes of legitimacy.

    never mind actual or perceived wrongs
    all the way back to the beginning of time.
    never mind nihilists posing as masters.
    never mind the religion whose temple is the bank.
    never mind that every face is a locked house
    with a couple of tiny windows.
    never mind the penis park
    full of widows and bitter mothers.

    never mind the history that writes itself
    on the walls of consciousness.

    despite the kicks of krishna, buddha and christ,
    love continues to sleep in the heart of mankind
    drugged by fear of helplessness and desire for power.

    let every heart be freed from any taste of bitterness
    and every solar plexus be released
    from its protest against humiliation.

    the pearl tree

  17. eternal perfect beloved

    you are myself -- i cannot be separate from you,
    but i can appear to be separated
    by the fa‡ade of differences in duality.

    every person i meet is god, meher baba, self
    wrapped in thick garments of sanskaric material,
    not merely aspects of myself -- self is indivisible --
    but my whole self wrapped in skins of different appearance.

    maya persuades me to accept appearance as real
    while you point continuously
    to the truth of indivisible oneness.

    the pearl tree

  18. eternal perfect beloved

    the golden rain of grace soothes a bothered heart
    with the wholeness of only love.

    i am neither adequate nor inadequate, you say.
    adequacy and inadequacy are just another duality
    bound together by indivisible oneness.

    i live beyond opposites
    in the place where adequacy and inadequacy
    are one and the same.

    when the wheel comes fully around,
    my friends, who think themselves my enemies,
    send praise disguised as criticism;
    my enemies, who think themselves my friends,
    send criticism disguised as praise.

    obeying this law of oneness
    powerlessness becomes mighty.
    with the ultimate glue of this equanimity,
    ugliest becomes most beautiful.

    the pearl tree

  19. eternal perfect beloved

    my treasure chest overflows with riches.
    everywhere i look i see the wealth of your gifts.
    at the same time i see that i'm totally empty.

    this limitless emptiness proves to be
    the most valuable gift of all.
    its priceless worth makes treasure of everything,
    just as a chest full of common objects made of gold
    is worth a fortune on the market.

    unlike the fortunes of the market place
    boundless wealth must be shared with all.
    with sharing it grows and increases in value.
    all dust becomes gold dust, every stone a diamond.
    ordinary grains of sand become pearls.

    oh beloved, if only king midas will grant me a moment,
    history will crown him with imperial ornaments
    and we'll all be freed from greed.

    the pearl tree

  20. eternal perfect beloved

    like a sprinkler on top of your head,
    watering the world with a rain of golden drops of grace,
    you widen my oneness as a horizon,
    you deepen my oneness to the height of a star.

    distance disappears from hearts in love.
    since you are the perfect beloved
    i long to be the perfect lover.

    you wouldn't harm me unless
    it were proper that i be harmed
    in which case harm would not be harm
    but rather the grace of your constant
    attention to my needs.

    if you feed me only sweets and never bitter medicine
    even when i'm ill, you would be a poor mother
    and a lousy excuse for a friend.

    my worst disasters become my greatest blessings
    by holding on to the hem of the avatar's robe.

    the pearl tree

  21. eternal perfect beloved

    in the intense furnace of divine love
    mind's many small thoughts
    as numerous as grains of sand
    fuse into a single transparent
    globe of clear glass.

    the rainbow appears from its hiding place
    projecting the gorgeous colorwheel of divine oneness.

    the pearl tree

  22. eternal perfect beloved

    god shuns an empty mind
    and finds no place in a full one.
    god comes into a balanced mind
    and settles down forever.

    the pearl tree

  23. eternal perfect beloved

    false self, which is the world,
    arises from true self, which is god.

    false self is within true self
    and true self is within false self.

    when false self exhausts it falsity
    it returns to the true self,
    which is without beginning or end
    and incapable of exhaustion.

    false self is composed of the elements in nature,
    the energies in life expression
    and thoughts in consciousness.
    true self is composed of the oneness
    within the elements, energies and thoughts,
    and the same oneness which is beyond them
    from which they arise.

    false self veils but does not replace true self.
    false self depends entirely on true self
    whereas true self is entirely independent.

    the true self praises itself.
    the false self pretends to praise, but doesn't dare
    for fear of strengthening its rival.

    the pearl tree

  24. eternal perfect beloved

    to embrace you is suicide for the false self,
    the separate, isolated, lonesome, needy self.
    it starves through inattention,
    like pulling the plug on its life support system.

    rather than embrace you, the false self waves
    its insurance policy in your face
    and threatens lawyers, courts and punishment.

    the pearl tree

  25. eternal perfect beloved

    the false self searches for the true self.

    the false self depends on
    the visible matter of the gross world,
    the dynamic energy of the subtle world,
    the conscious intelligence of the mental world.
    whereas the total independence of real self
    depends on nothing at all.

    the false self appears in the contrasts of opposites,
    whereas the true self never divides
    or separates into opposites.

    the false self begins, goes through changes
    and comes to an end with the passage of time,
    whereas the true self never begins or ends in time
    but persists eternally both within and beyond time.

    the pearl tree

  26. eternal perfect beloved

    even while resting in no possible separation,
    i'm tempted to play with imagination
    desiring to let light divide from dark
    and allow above to separate from below.

    like the device in a planetarium
    which projects the heavens on the inside of a dome,
    imagination casts the world on the senses of the mind.
    oneness must express itself through the medium of duality.

    i draw conclusions about resulting contrasts,
    feel the alignment of energies for and against
    and isolate myself in that scenery.

    caught on the hook of duality
    i project my limitations on fellow human beings
    like cookie cutters falling on raw dough.

    the pearl tree

  27. eternal perfect beloved

    there's a certain corner of your smile
    which asks me how hungry i am.
    you tease me with playful inquiries
    about how i consume you.

    do i push you around my plate
    like a finicky child
    just nibbling a little on this and that,
    all the while hoping to find pizza,
    spaghetti, ice cream and chips?

    there's another corner of your smile
    which very seriously tells me
    if i want to feed my real hunger
    i should swallow you like a starved dog,
    let my belly extract every available
    bit of nourishment,
    and let natural digestion discard any unusables.

    the pearl tree

  28. eternal perfect beloved

    swallow the guru whole.
    don't nibble like a minnow
    or consume leftovers like a pilot fish.

    even if you're only a cod
    and the guru's a whale, swallow him.

    the travail of swallowing
    such an enormous being is the spiritual work.
    how else will you reach his size?

    the pearl tree

  29. eternal perfect beloved

    the taste of oneness satisfies every hunger.
    no craving or whim remains unslaked.
    the tongue comes to rest at ease on the palate.
    satisfaction loosens tension in consciousness
    just as sleep floods fatigue with sweet release.

    the spice of choice is oneness.

    the pearl tree

  30. eternal perfect beloved

    the only face that satisfies
    the longing for eternal beauty,

    the face that shines with the inner
    light of absolute oneness that remains one
    no matter what dualities arise on the horizon

    demanding to be recognized and played with,
    no matter how grim the game.

    in the stillness of inner silence
    your original face, oh beloved,
    presses against my kiss.

    the pearl tree

  31. eternal perfect beloved

    you glide down from pure truth
    as i clamber up from relative truth.
    we meet right here in the middle and merge
    together like world champion honeymooners.

    the degree of interest you show me
    equals the degree of longing i have for you.

    even while all the worlds project their fantastic views
    upon me as if i were a cinema screen in the round,
    i want only to hang on to your daaman
    which is the reality of who i am.

    the pearl tree

  32. eternal perfect beloved

    odd, fresh, striking, dangerous
    every day i wait for words of love
    in your silent mouth.

    let me hear your silence.
    let me see you with my ears.

    arise in my heart, oh will to love,
    and sweep away every obstruction
    that blocks mind's total absorption in divine silence.

    the golden rain of grace falls from a cloud of silence
    and makes no sound as it penetrates the heart with love.

    the pearl tree

  33. eternal perfect beloved

    oh sustainer,
    with your creative right eye and destructive left,
    the entire world arises from the pure honey of your love.

    your omnipresent, all-pervading body,
    armlessly embraces the creation in every opposite.
    your main quality is equality.

    wearing a crown of magnificent silence
    and a necklace of divine names,
    you are the first i, the proto i, the arch i.

    your indestructible, uncreated body of oneness
    is muhammad's islam, christ's consciousness,
    and buddha's enlightenment.

    silence participates in the sound of your name.
    emptiness participates in the structure of your thought.
    stillness participates in the energy of your feeling.

    your body of pure love forms the foundation
    and support of all the worlds.

    the pearl tree

  34. eternal perfect beloved

    we want to love you
    but since you dropped your body
    we're frustrated by your seeming absence.

    while men argue over your true name,
    we come to you to learn what we already know
    and experience what you've always known.

    you tell us to love each other
    and we're stuck with that.

    now that your mortal hands and feet lie at rest
    in your samadhi, let ours be yours.

    the pearl tree

  35. eternal perfect beloved

    the whole world waits for the moment
    you break your silence
    as the voice of god from heaven
    via satellite, network and cable.

    those who want to love you murmur
    a secret prayer that you break your silence
    in the intimacy of their hearts.

    some say you communicate with them
    through visions, dreams and miracles
    which reveal who you are.

    the world waits for you to break your silence
    while you wait for the world
    to hear your silence in its heart.

    the pearl tree

  36. eternal perfect beloved

    before one can appreciate silence
    one must experience the excitement of full sound.

    what would a musician do without silence?

    only one who can hear silence
    knows how big a sound can fill
    the profound stillness of original oneness.

    the pearl tree

  37. eternal perfect beloved

    deeper than dreamless sleep
    and brighter by far than the sun,
    the pearl of unity's deep silence
    shows every color but has no color of its own.

    goodwill diamonds of inviolate peace thrive
    in the immaculate soil of pearl dust and golden rain.
    they shine with light that makes no shadow.

    the pearl tree

  38. eternal perfect beloved

    the path to you begins everywhere
    and leads to the point of balance
    at the center of the world.

    it disappears in the point of oneness there,
    pulling the traveler with it into your nirvanic heart.

    he can't take anything with him
    through the passageway at the center of duality
    where opposites meet,
    not even an idea, a worry or a dream.

    no matter how minute or unimportant,
    anything he brings obscures the way.

    having found the way and passed through it,
    he finds everything waiting for him there.

    the pearl tree

  39. eternal perfect beloved

    consciousness is a vehicle
    that constantly changes shape
    to meet the needs of the way it travels.

    jeep, limo, train, bike

    consciousness creates the road,
    the terrain, the vehicle and the driver.

    trawler, liner, yacht, dinghy

    consciousness fuels the engine,
    maintains the vehicle and trains the driver.

    offroad, dragster, formula one, buggy

    consciousness draws the map,
    chooses the route
    and enjoys the scenery or hates it.

    glider, concord, stealth, cessna

    the pearl tree

  40. eternal perfect beloved

    no matter how far one wanders
    in the pathways of personality,
    the source always comes along with.

    no matter how tightly
    one packs the mind with illusions,
    reality can never be squeezed out.

    no matter how fast and abruptly
    one sorts through thought,
    truth can never be shaken off.

    no matter what disguises one adopts
    to play roles in the theater of consciousness,
    self never loses its thread of recognition.

    the pearl tree

  41. eternal perfect beloved

    one pass key opens all locks
    in the world of feelings.
    where is that key hidden?

    look behind smallness
    in the place of helplessness,
    right there where it feels like dying,
    there's the key.

    with that one on one's belt,
    one easily opens a way to heart's content.

    the pearl tree

  42. eternal perfect beloved

    that single drop of rain
    which covers the whole world with gold
    is by far the world's largest ocean
    and by far its smallest too.

    the pearl tree

  43. eternal perfect beloved

    an enlightened mind resembles a golfer
    who hits a hole in one every time he tees off.

    the pearl tree

  44. eternal perfect beloved

    no matter what goes on in illusion
    with all its irritations and temptations,
    the constant ringing of the doorbell and telephone,
    every thought begins in you and returns to you
    after circling around the wheel of duality.
    you are always with us no matter where we go.

    you are one hundred percent present
    in all these thoughts,
    but you're hard to recognize
    in your dress of halfnesses.

    no matter if a grid of dualities catches my ego
    and holds it fast like an insect in a web.
    no matter if i feel like a cheap battery,
    held hostage by the body's outrageous demands,
    never do you leave me, no matter what i do.
    you are always there, always in my heart.

    the pearl tree

  45. eternal perfect beloved

    i see only my mind and its consequences
    arranged around me as the world
    saying, "this is who you are, this is what you are!"

    all that is is only i am.
    all dualities arise in oneness
    including that of self and other.

    no time, no space, no sound,
    no movement, no form, no name,
    the entire creation is a manifestation of imagination.

    the pearl tree

  46. eternal perfect beloved

    the infinite ocean swims around in itself
    in the form of a fish wondering "who am i?"

    the pearl tree


    sea rose


  47. eternal perfect beloved

    the voyage of self discovery
    begins in pure unconsciousness
    and goes though every known condition
    of nature and consciousness.

    ultimately the traveler arrives
    at pure consciousness which has no object
    and no subject, no division whatsoever,
    no dualistic opposites, no conflict,
    no space, no time.

    the voyage ends in this wholeness
    of the indivisible one
    where the traveler experiences
    the bliss of unlimited truth, love and peace.

    he settles permanently in this bliss,
    knowing himself with certainty as the all-self
    at the source of creation
    and within every being in creation.

    sea rose

  48. eternal perfect beloved

    the hand cannot touch you,
    the voice cannot describe you
    and the mind cannot fathom you.

    yet all the hand touches is you,
    all the tongue describes is you.

    all grasping of mind, every thought
    both true and false is you,
    and all comprehension of mind
    is none other than you.

    sea rose

  49. eternal perfect beloved

    though silence is your highest teaching
    and silence is our highest praise,
    the original question formulated in me
    fills the screen of consciousness with endless answers.

    sea rose

  50. eternal perfect beloved

    oh beloved, you squeeze me, you press me,
    you pinch me between the jaws of the only
    unforgivable sin -- hypocrisy.

    you squash me down from above
    with sharp warnings that i must not
    claim to be something greater than i am.

    at the same time you drive me up from below
    with stern warnings that i must not
    commit the crime of false modesty
    by pretending to be less than i actually am.

    i thought to avoid hypocrisy by deference,
    mystification and saying nothing,
    but you're not pleased by that false modesty.
    in your "call" you say it shows weakness
    which eventually sours into ego.
    there lies no escape from the bite of these jaws.

    the truth plain and simple sounds outrageous
    even when you say it in ways sublimely beautiful.
    even when you live it in daily life
    many turn away from you,
    thinking you're deluded by false ideas of greatness
    -- god in human form, indeed,
    the poor man suffers from inflation!

    what then for the ant, sparrow or man
    who realizes you as his own true self?
    how ridiculous he appears,
    like a boy wearing his father's suit.
    yet he must confirm the truth of his father's word
    that he is the self of all,
    and he must witness to all that only he is real.

    oh beloved, this is the servitude
    that i have vowed to master
    and it is my joy to do so.

    sea rose

  51. eternal perfect beloved

    struggle as one may, swim like a champion,
    nobody ever reached the end of the ocean of love.
    all perish in love; even death itself must drown.

    sea rose

  52. eternal perfect beloved

    i am the center of each and every thing
    and the self of every being.
    i meet myself coming and going.

    the worlds with all their inhabitants
    embody the many forms of self
    in countless variations of self revelation.

    i flourish and fall, i sustain, persist and remain.
    all express me, all confirm my omnipresence
    and all return to me
    according to the laws of manifestation.

    this stream of impermanent forms flowing through time
    continually arises from and flows again
    into the immeasurable ocean
    of vast stillness which is my real self.

    sea rose

  53. eternal perfect beloved

    in the mind and out of the mind at the same time,
    conscious and not conscious at the same time,
    full and empty at the same time,
    the incredible sun of reality
    shines with the light of truth and the warmth of love.

    one who bathes in this sunshine knows peace.
    one who dwells in it recognizes god as the self
    of the universe and all its inhabitants.
    he lives in one with everyone
    in his abode as one beyond everyone.

    sea rose

  54. eternal perfect beloved

    when freedom binds itself
    the avatar appears.

    when binding achieves freedom
    the perfect master appears.

    sea rose

  55. eternal perfect beloved

    mind tethered to oneness roams freely
    in every quarter of consciousness.
    the untethered traveler moves through the terrain
    following familiar roads and occasionally opening
    new ones leading toward and away from the destination.

    tethered mind sits exactly still
    on the point of destination
    while the landscape of consciousness
    moves fluidly around it.

    oneness is self,
    the goal of all seeking
    and the destination of all travel.

    the mind of oneness recognizes itself
    in every diversity of consciousness,
    in every variation of harmony and disharmony
    and in every flavor of conflict and resolution.

    the entire landscape showcases self.
    the greater the contrast, the wider the gap,
    the brighter shines the light of self's singleness.

    search as one will,
    one can find no other image than self
    and no other purpose than its revelation.

    sea rose

  56. eternal perfect beloved

    what you see and hear of me is illusion
    but the silent, invisible part of me is real as diamond,
    vaster than ocean and sky together.

    this is the seed self from which the universe grows.

    just as the universe is called by the name of every
    tom, dick and harry on the street,
    the self doesn't know its own name.

    sink an empty bottle in the sea.
    what's the difference between the water in it
    and the water outside it?

    that's the difference between your self and seed self.
    the bottle is made of misunderstandings that melt
    under the touch of love.

    sea rose

  57. eternal perfect beloved

    i created the world.
    i did it in order to know who i am.
    now i know that all is self.

    you are my self.
    not knowing the oneness of self,
    i believed myself to be other than you.
    false self clings to that belief
    until the realization of real self dawns
    and the indivisible oneness of real self shines
    with the original light of real truth.

    in that light our oneness is abundantly clear
    and the shadows of the illusion of separation
    experienced by false self
    are exposed in all their charming detail.

    you created the world.
    you did that in order to know yourself.
    by close examination of your experience of false self
    with its false knowing
    you discover real self with real knowing.

    by love for truth and the people of truth
    you triumph over the false and the people of shadow.
    everything in the world points to wholeness
    and everybody in the world points to real self.

    enter reality through the love door of oneness
    and establish permanent residence
    in the brilliant truth of self.

    sea rose

  58. eternal perfect beloved

    everything i meet,
    i meet myself in yet another form.
    i am the essence, they are the forms.
    essence is one, forms many.

    usually form meets form
    and essence remains unmet.

    whoever meets me,
    meets himself in essence in my form.

    sea rose

  59. eternal perfect beloved

    i've always been unconsciously one with everything.
    now i'm conscious of this inescapable oneness,
    being one in everything and one beyond everything.

    all the life of the universe takes place within me
    and i participate in every detail of it,
    yet i'm totally still and at peace.

    what is going on everywhere?
    the sun would fall out of the sky
    before the story could be completely told.

    the bride comes to the groom, birth,
    the struggle to achieve and fulfil desires,
    the loss of it all at death.

    the same story is repeated in every individual
    as different as each one's face.
    like faces, they're both different and the same.

    isn't this a mystery worthy of silence?

    two faces, two stories in which
    their interconnected roles constitute
    one single face in search of union.

    her syllables give form to his words.
    his lines give meaning to hers.
    with one silence they affirm "this is who i am."

    no force in the universe can shatter their union.
    this is my stillness and total peace.
    this is my participation
    and this is the life of the universe within me.

    sea rose

  60. eternal perfect beloved

    what's the use in cultivating opinions
    about events in my life?
    that was good and that was bad.
    this gives me pleasure and that pain.
    how do i know what's good or bad?
    why waste time arguing for and against
    with the limited scope of human understanding?
    both good and bad are endless parades of ignorance.

    all i know is that truth permits no division.
    you're not divided into good and bad.
    you're all good, or if you like, you're all bad.
    whatever happens has to happen.
    the whole history of the world
    in every detail from the beginning of time
    conspires to make it happen.

    but you, truth, are beyond happening.

    what do i know of this person's need
    and that person's service,
    or this city's need and that country's service?
    am i a parent forced to decide
    in ignorance and out of habit,
    hoping for the best, knowing nothing?
    who can say this is important and that not?
    that this youth scores a point in football
    cannot be separated from that ancient emperor's
    defense of his northern frontier.

    arguments for and against have no value
    beyond entertainment -- a perpetual dance
    of nymphs on the floor of consciousness.
    when apollo keeps the rhythm
    and picks the melody on his cithara,
    this entertainment reaches its zenith
    of subtlety and intricacy.
    if you don't believe me
    then you fail to see the minotaur devouring maidens
    in the middle of the dance hall.

    who's willing to find amusement in an empty dance floor?
    better yet, to appreciate the virgin lot it stands on?
    best of all, to contemplate the immaculate space
    before land was there to build on?

    sea rose

  61. eternal perfect beloved

    every bit of creation is me.
    every being in it is me.
    what was real is no longer real.
    what was unreal is now real.

    the world is my false self
    which like a mirror
    reflects my real self.
    what image appears there?

    the form of supreme oneness appears,
    visible only to the eye of indivisibility.
    this form has no form in itself
    yet it gives form to all which does have form.

    the forms which most nearly approach this image
    are three: love, truth and power.
    whoever sees the nature of any of these three
    also perceives the form of real self.

    sea rose

  62. eternal perfect beloved

    this world of harmless shadows struts its drama
    on the dream stage of six shifting senses.

    i kiss the light like a moth
    and burn up in its purity.
    i die like a moth in its radiance.

    life and death characterize the labyrinth.
    both alive and dead, i am neither.

    to exit the shadow labyrinth of yes and no
    is my destiny, and i choose it.
    neither alive nor dead, i am both.

    sea rose

  63. eternal perfect beloved

    like the moon i am not very bright
    but through my illumination
    you can tell for sure
    that a very great light exists
    somewhere not far distant.

    sea rose

  64. eternal perfect beloved

    the real ocean has no surface, no waves.

    as soon as karmic winds arise
    the ocean manifests an illusory surface
    which is disturbed by waves in proportion
    to the force of wind.

    desires stir the mind with a storm of thoughts
    for and against, success and excuse, failure and defense.

    no matter how wildly the surface
    rolls and pitches under the duress of karmic wind,
    the depth remains unmoved.

    why struggle in vain to force the sea to silence?
    when the wind stops blowing
    the sea drops to stillness of its own accord.

    go deep enough and you find stillness
    even under the roughest of seas.

    sea rose

  65. eternal perfect beloved

    after one wave comes another.
    the fall of one gives rise to the next.

    mind must read the palimpsest of experience
    in order to create consciousness,
    and there must be consciousness
    in order to realize the true self.

    there is no falsity in the real self
    but there is reality in the false self.
    false eyes can't see it, but real eyes can.
    false eyes see the false self as real.

    real eyes see the real self.
    divine eyes see both as one.

    sea rose

  66. eternal perfect beloved

    real ocean
    false motion

    sea rose

  67. eternal perfect beloved

    i harvest imperishable fruit
    which was ripe and ready to pick
    before the beginning of time.

    it takes forever to find but at last
    i discover its whereabouts everywhere
    more abundant than grapes on a vine.

    the very substance of the labyrinth
    itself is made of it.
    bite anything, bite the nearest thing
    and enjoy its marvelous flavor.

    sink your teeth into any idea or feeling.
    smell the powerful fragrance of freedom
    and explore its texture.

    an exclamation will escape your lips.
    you'll say, "oh love!"
    a thought will fill your mind totally
    from zenith to nadir, a single thought,
    still and perfect, the thought, "ah truth!"

    sea rose

  68. eternal perfect beloved

    the unity of god can only be seen
    by its reflection on the walls of duality.

    like the reality hidden within appearance
    light is not visible until it falls on something.

    the door and window man punches holes in the walls
    which surrounds ego with protective ignorance.
    even a small window changes the quality of light
    falling on furnishings in the room.

    the more light that comes in
    the darker and crisper become the shadows.
    light drives shadows into visibility.

    sea rose

  69. eternal perfect beloved

    until realization,
    consciousness is always separate and dualistic.
    after realization it is also unified and single.
    mind must divide in order to mark its presence.

    sea rose

  70. eternal perfect beloved

    the whole of life is preparation
    for a great work -- death.

    one prepares by intense living,
    with total attention wide open in every dimension,
    committed to every ounce of consciousness
    available in each event.
    one savors feelings like a connoisseur, a gourmet.
    one makes all the connections
    like a scientist or a philosopher.

    with age the thoroughly living person
    becomes ripe for setting attention aside,
    just as a tired man after a day of accomplishment
    lays his head on a pillow
    and breaths away the day's activity.
    what could be more satisfying than sleep?

    half-lived events and half-seen situations,
    whether good or bad, will not slip away
    on the breath of sleep.
    they stick in the forehead and drip into the throat
    like a bitter juice that simply refuses
    to ferment into wine.

    the great work lies in letting go,
    in the recognition, "i have done this,
    i have seen that, i have been there."
    no struggle remains, no clinging to the surface
    in order to avoid the depth, no half-death,
    no fitful sleep haunted by dreams of pain or pleasure.
    troubled mornings follow such semi-sleep
    just as troubled lives follow such partial death.

    live the depth and width and height of every day,
    my friend, that you be prepared eventually
    for the great work -- to die.

    sea rose

  71. eternal perfect beloved

    not even the most outrageous behavior
    changes the nature of truth.

    once the true foundation dawns in consciousness,
    the world's quakes no longer disturb its tranquillity.

    oh rare ocean, pure love and truth in one,
    i rest unmoved in your immeasurable light.

    sea rose

  72. eternal perfect beloved

    this woman howling with terror in a storm of tears
    like an abandoned child in the chamber of horrors,
    she's screaming for parents who really care.

    take her hand, beloved, you who are the father of all,
    sweep her up in the safety of your divine arms.
    the light from your eyes drives away shadows
    as when theater lights come on after a movie.

    you know words of comfort that heal the heart's panic
    and you are the vocalist whose song awakens love
    in even the most unlikely places,
    like the grass which sprouts in the rubble of hiroshima.

    children love to play hide and seek, beloved,
    but this is enough.
    help this lost soul find you as her own true father.
    dissolve her troubles in the ocean of your love.

    sea rose

  73. eternal perfect beloved

    we all thought you had left us
    all alone and helpless.
    we thought you made the world
    and went away.

    but no, it isn't so!
    you are present everywhere,
    you are living in our hearts.
    we are sleeping in your arms.

    there's no real escape,
    nowhere to hide
    beyond the world in love divine.

    sea rose

  74. eternal perfect beloved

    when you see the beauty of his face
    when you look into his eyes
    don't you see yourself?
    don't you recognize?

    when you hear his words of wisdom
    when you contemplate the truth
    don't you see yourself?
    don't you recognize?

    when you feel the impact of his love
    when your heart flies in the sky
    don't you see yourself?
    don't you recognize?

    when his peace wraps around you
    like a blanket in the cold
    don't you see yourself?
    don't you recognize?

    when you hear his inner voice
    talking in your heart
    don't you see yourself?
    don't you recognize?

    when you wake up to the ocean
    seeing only love forever more
    don't you see yourself?
    don't you recognize?

    sea rose

  75. eternal perfect beloved

    the creations of artists inspire the soul
    to new heights of appreciation and awe.
    those of engineers and scientists
    prove both useful and dangerous.

    anyone who knows the ultimate artist
    becomes himself the origin of the cosmic masterpiece
    and the divine engineer who maintains it
    from the center of mind.

    sea rose

  76. eternal perfect beloved

    the gods and even god himself has been kind to me.
    my suffering has become joy.

    through the irresistible power of divine love
    he cleared the way for me to discover
    my true identity as love.

    i was a mole burrowing through darkness.
    i knew myself only in terms of a passing show
    of changing fragments: desires, cultures, beliefs.

    oh you who put the apollonian twins to bed
    and invited me to visit with their father,
    you anchor me in an ocean more solid than land.

    oh you who rescued me from the jaws of my own mind
    as i was being torn to shreds,
    i went to sleep in my old bed
    but you woke me up in a brand new one.

    i dry my tears on the beloved's daaman.

    sea rose

  77. eternal perfect beloved

    you turn the sinner into a winner
    and the loser into a lover.

    you turn the tyrant into a servant
    and hate into hope.

    you turn the fool into a divine tool
    and trials into triumphs.

    you turn the ass into an ace
    and silliness into silence.

    sea rose

  78. eternal perfect beloved

    the soul warmth of love human and divine
    radiates from your silence and from your words;
    it warms us in your pictures and your actions.
    your biography like a furnace heats mankind's icy soul.
    the creation demonstrates your reality.

    not to replace the world's religions
    did you come, beloved, but to fulfil them.
    humanity is being initiated into knowledge of the avatar.
    you brought us this far, each and every one,
    and you will bring us every one to the final destination.

    everyone loves you according to the texture of his own heart.
    because you are love, we are dead men, just let us die.
    the moment we want you to be pleased,
    you move away and your heart turns chilly.
    what's the use of knowing your words without living them?

    keep your face before our eyes, our flag of freedom,
    and tattoo your name on our hearts.
    seeing who you are shows us who we are.
    your oneness takes over the head,
    the heart, the hand, the feet, the phallos.

    seeing your beauty and knowing
    the very same beauty can be found within ourselves
    lifts our spirits up to bliss.

    rather than thank you, beloved,
    let us wish to become living gratitude.

    sea rose

  79. eternal perfect beloved

    oh heart of oneness, to play the game
    that begins "you are" and ends "i am,"
    turn down the volume of the talking mind
    and listen to the silence of oneness.

    thoughts melt away in the ocean of oneness.
    no matter how foul or loathsome they may be,
    no matter how clever or charming,
    they can never pollute the ocean's eternal purity.

    sea rose

  80. eternal perfect beloved

    from eternal oneness arise all contrast and conflict.
    though covered by duality oneness persists unchanged.
    oh one, how do you divide and become two?
    oh two, what multiplies you?

    the pristine oneness of undivided reality works
    together with the force that drives dualities apart
    to produce a shadow show on the walls of consciousness.

    dialectic's covert oneness requires
    for each thing its opposite;
    it demands the projection
    of an apparently real exterior universe
    to balance the imagination
    of an apparently unreal interior one.

    the outer is world, the inner is consciousness.
    realization of these two occurs simultaneously
    with the realization of one.

    just as mind cognizes everything
    by comparison with its opposite,
    it cognizes oneness by comparison with duality.

    if it weren't for two, one could never be seen.
    if it weren't for one, two could never be.

    sea rose

  81. eternal perfect beloved

    in this world full of
    extremely intelligent ways
    to express ignorance,
    who knows the difference
    between fusion and confusion?

    meaning and nonsense are one.
    god is one is i am.
    world is many is i appear to be.
    the nirvanic oneness of absolute vacuum
    makes these kisses come true.

    sea rose

  82. eternal perfect beloved

    why all the fuss? why not bliss?
    projection creates dualistic divisions.
    sustenance services them.
    absorbtion re-unites them in original wholeness.

    equanimity is neither elated by success
    nor depressed by failure,
    while at the same time
    it suppresses none of those feelings.

    head clears a space for heart
    to build the real temple of divine love.
    first one blamed others,
    then one discovered oneself.

    mind thinks that source lies in the past,
    but past and future are unreal concepts.
    what follows defines what came before;
    effect defines cause.

    one who gives up concern about size and strength
    enters the church of the heart
    where the master of love separates
    the many false beloveds from the genuine one.

    sea rose

  83. eternal perfect beloved

    in an ocean of perfect stillness
    make-believe waves stir mind into action.

    a two-headed fish swims
    in the waters of paradise.

    its body is made of pearl,
    its eyes of diamond.

    it moves two directions at once
    without departing its original location.

    the drowned sailor tells its story
    and sings the song of its beauty.

    sea rose

  84. eternal perfect beloved

    help me see the truth of oneness,
    and express the love of oneness
    and live the power of oneness in daily life.

    let my desire be to be desire-free.

    let me hold on to the sense of who i am
    and whom i serve in the storm of impulses
    toward this or that identity and this or that master.

    i don't have to pretend i'm a genius if i'm not,
    or a winner if i'm not, or a master if i'm not.

    all i have to do is show you
    that the word of the avatar is real,
    that his promises are law in the universe.

    sea rose

  85. eternal perfect beloved

    write not only poems directed to
    the eternal perfect beloved self
    but also poems to humanity at all stages
    of sleep, dream and awakening.

    a mix of the two is possible also.
    speak to the eternal perfect beloved
    within each of them.

    communicate about enlightenment
    in such a way that it attracts others to the path
    and gives them a sense of a way
    out of their predicaments.

    there is a place of rest in realization
    and a place of accomplishment in mastery.

    sea rose

  86. eternal perfect beloved

    if you wish to write some words or lines,
    beloved, tools stand ready
    as well as this willing hand

    i lay pen and paper at your feet,
    at the feet of oneness,
    a sacrifice to do with as you will.

    sea rose

  87. eternal perfect beloved

    a trapped mind seeks constantly for release.
    the inner prisoner strikes against walls
    while the inner manager commits to making
    a liveable place out of prison.

    there are no words for what i'm saying
    and no questions for the answers i give.
    such is the art of talking to a man who doesn't listen.

    sea rose

  88. eternal perfect beloved

    no matter who you think you are,
    no matter who you want to be,
    secret identity lurks behind appearance.
    true identity waits to be discovered.

    god is real self, the world false.
    false self awakens realization of true self.

    heart bridge in a landscape of marriages,
    the climate of conjugal bliss:
    this is where the self lives.

    sea rose

  89. eternal perfect beloved

    sitting on the bank of the river
    noticing the seeds of ocean
    float by like a stream,
    the lidless eye of singleness
    watches different forms of god
    make three worlds.

    contradictions of energy and meaning
    and all the clashes of form
    merely decorate the surface of silence
    with the sound of maya's laughter.

    sea rose

  90. eternal perfect beloved

    oh single-drop ocean without shore
    oh dance, dancer and dancefloor

    sea rose

  91. eternal perfect beloved

    truth inheres in every human consciousness
    but fascination with the fulfilment of desires
    prevents realization.

    real love loosens attachment to desire.
    false love is just a disguise for desire.

    false love makes the world go round
    and real love stops it.

    the boredom of perpetual desire fulfilment
    gives birth to love for freedom from slavery
    and teaches one how to die to desire.

    sea rose

  92. eternal perfect beloved

    from certain points of view
    everything looks like catastrophe;
    from other points of view all is well.

    therefore events are less important
    than the viewpoints they're seen from.

    the overall result of suffering
    is to cast light on its source
    and reveal the key to freedom.

    once the door opens
    the lock ceases to be of interest.

    sea rose

  93. eternal perfect beloved

    in the center of balance in consciousness
    the wing of goodness equals the wing of evil,
    the grace of compassion equals the curse of hatred,
    and the left side of the planet extends
    exactly as far as its right.

    the arduous human path enters exactly this center
    and exits in the trackless paradise of divine oneness.

    sea rose

  94. eternal perfect beloved

    i dreamed that jewels were stolen
    from a showcase at the university.
    the padlock lay in pieces on the shelf
    with a pair of bolt cutters
    and small devices for displaying jewelry.

    don't touch the cabinet; i'll call the police.
    maybe we can identify the thieves through fingerprints.

    when i wake up i remember
    the bodhisattva's golden begging bowl.
    when thieves came prowling around his hut
    he threw the bowl out the window.

    sea rose

  95. eternal perfect beloved

    aristotle's eyes were fixed on the world
    rather than soul.
    his star pupils went out to conquer the world
    rather than themselves.

    the western church followed suit.
    the whole western civilization fell asleep
    with the rhythm of rome's marching legions.

    oh that alexander had knit west and east
    as beautifully as gandhara sculptures of maitreya.
    the call of the true victor, "conquer yourself,"
    disappeared in cries of terror.

    no blame -- all is a mixture of good and bad,
    and no one diverts the divine plan
    from its destined course.

    sea rose

  96. eternal perfect beloved

    in the capitalist world, gold was the unit of value.
    in communism, it was labor.
    in the apocalyptic world, the unit of value
    is self-knowledge, which is a measure of awakeness.

    we are the cleaning generations.
    we work to remove pollution
    from the elements in nature, from the senses,
    from the words, thoughts and actions of mankind.

    sea rose

  97. eternal perfect beloved

    time itself traveling at the speed of light
    creates the impression of an expanding universe
    as it moves outward into the past
    from the eternal present at the center.

    a spacecraft could never reach the edge of the universe
    even if it traveled at the speed of light
    like a surfer on a wave of photons.

    a person who knows the nature of imagination, however,
    can travel to the edge of time in a moment
    and go beyond time into eternity faster than a photon.

    sea rose

  98. eternal perfect beloved

    monkey on a rope
    no hope

    bear on a chain
    atrophied brain

    fish in a bowl
    small soul

    tiger in a zoo
    nothing to do

    bird on a string
    sad thing

    sea rose

  99. eternal perfect beloved

    a single drop contains the rain.
    the earth fits neatly into a single diamond
    that sparkles the stars as points of light.
    a single breath fills the four directions with wind.
    a single step spans the labyrinth from beginning to end.

    sea rose

  100. eternal perfect beloved

    a flock of opinions and judgments
    all search for nesting sites
    like seabirds on the bluffs of shetland,
    all want to set up housekeeping and bear young.

    sea rose

  101. eternal perfect beloved

    divine love gives words their sense
    while divine truth gives them their meaning.

    even these words are burned
    in the fire of your real mercy
    which consumes every vestige of illusion.

    illusion itself provides the fuel
    for a perpetual fire of sacrifice,
    a cauldron of zoroastrian flame
    in which opposites burn each other,
    in an inextinguishable dhuni.

    sea rose

  102. eternal perfect beloved

    does a boat get tired of bouncing on the waves?
    does it give up and say, "now i'm exhausted!
    i will sink and find rest on the bottom."

    day and night it rises and falls,
    lurches and pitches, rolling
    effortlessly with the waves.

    sea rose

  103. eternal perfect beloved

    i leave these tracks of sound behind me
    like footprints on the surface of mind.

    they mark the route i passed
    on my way to the oceanic depths
    of divine self where no trace remains.

    you who pick up my trail and follow it
    to the nearest crossing will see a signpost.
    this lovely highway with its ancient landmarks
    goes by the name "avatar's avenue."

    sea rose

eternal perfect beloved

1. the golden rain
2. shoulder an oar
3. winnowing the ocean
4. salt from the beloved's table, welcome home
5. no separation is possible, one another
7. how the rock awoke


POEMS 1966-1996 | My Story | Quiet Clouds | Giftwaves | Silly Bulls and Dog Growls | Oh This Yes