Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Buddha’s Birthday Poem

look up into the sky
look into the Baby Buddha’s eyes.

despite his declaration: “Only I am holy”
we love the Baby Buddha anyway.

before he could teach us to WAKE UP
he let go of silver spoons to grow up.

look into the Baby Buddha’s eyes
in the face of everyone you meet.

in the early morning twilight
as planets align in the eastern sky
buffalo graze on tallgrass.

Happy Buddha’s Birthday

Margaret Wheeler
May 10, 2011

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Jijang bosal for Honey




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Honey


My little cat Honey is dying. She was diagnosed two or maybe three weeks ago with kidney failure, and despite my best efforts has slowly wasted away. I am very sad. I’m also feeling very guilty because I was negligent in various ways.

We adopted Honey nine years ago from the local animal shelter. She was a pregnant stray who was very close to being euthanized. So in another sense I am feeling quite virtuous because we prolonged her life, and because her life was by and large a good one, with plenty of food and water and love.

Somewhere between guilt and virtue lies a truth about our lives and our deaths. I don’t know what it is.

I know that I love the little creature and that she loves me. She’s lying right now in the garden, under a rose bush, in the sunshine, while her life slowly ebbs away. Margaret and I have been weeding the vegetable garden, stopping now and then to visit with her. She lifts her head a bit when we touch her then falls back into a doze. This is best death I can give her, to let her lie in a safe familiar place, to return to her again and again so she can hear my voice and feel my touch.

I know that there is great teaching in all this, about suffering and impermanence. But right now all I want to do is cry.