To study the Buddha way is to study the self

Look behind you

the path has disappeared

there is no way to return

before you, only mist and fog

a road? a bridge? a cliff?

below your feet

the rustle of golden leaves

that speak of fall

and chances lost

and spring still to come

To study the self is to forget the self

Boundless heart-mind is

what manifests

through this body as

acting,

speaking,

thinking, and

experiencing

when “I” steps out of the way.

To forget the self is to be actualized by myriad things

Tender shiver

of a monarch’s wing

an eyelash of your sleeping child

these words

unshakeable dharma gate

unbreakable

path

Peg Syverson