Dhammic Life

I put my hands
in reverent clasp,
A deep bow I offer
To my Guru great,
The Muni of the Sakyas is He.

The Nameless Truth did He taught,
Truth as Plain Truth,
without attaching any hint of divinity.

Harmlessness to ALL
Is the Supreme Good,
says the Muni,
without much thought
of who's a believer or not.

Pure mercy did He advocate,
To ALL it should be shown,
Even upon the tormentor
should no ill will show!

How many are there
whose love most pure like Him?
Too few if any,
Hence my homage be
upon the rare gem of humanity great!

Praising none of the lameness of vengence,
Allowing not even for protection sake,
He taught Man to break the chain of karmic debt,
Going against man's witless animal instinct,
Thus to the Muni do I bow low,
To the Supremacy of His Purity great.

A sure refuge against the tide of lusts,
1001 forms,
1001 pleasures,
1001 desires,
An Ariyan should have none of these
Thus taught the Muni.

A fool He is many think,
Yet those who abstained calmness attained,
Freedom from craving do they attain
All thanks to the Guru who went against these tides
To Him do I salute.

His wisdom few can equal,
for there's no one harsh smack for those who believeth not,
Hope's not gone for the daily man
Who to sensual desires still subscribe,
To them He taught a road most straight,
Happy now and a better 'morrow's day
Walking blameless along the way.

To them who's bent on leaving the worldly ways,
A holy path He opened,
Where caste and gender lay meaningless,
A path where Samsara's carriage stops.

In the light of His wisdom
Do I light my life.



~sampuna 30 Nov 2010, kantor

Labels: Buddhist poem