Wednesday, February 21, 2018
Buddha's Pronouncement
Buddha's Pronouncement
Buddha, I don't understand
your message.
Old age, sickness and death––
indeed they come to us all
and many of my friends
have already gone,
having already succumbed
to each of these.
What are you trying
to tell us?
I think I am hearing it
wrong.
Should we not care about these?
Show compassion
when others fall?
Should we not be honest
and confess
that when our time arrives,
we will likewise go
through the stages
and not be sure why?
If nothing in this life script
matters,
how does life itself count?
Were we sent here
for a purpose?
And must we taste
old age, sickness
and death
many times over
as part of the bargain?
Buddha, you leave out
holy rapture,
union itself the goal
and end.
I know I cannot
think my way to God.
I must find
someone wise and ancient
sitting under
a tree
to explain such things,
set me straight.
Dorothy Walters
February 20, 2017
(image from internet)
