Why cling to some idea
or philosophy uttered
thousands of years
(or maybe just a moment) ago?
Why, when there is already
this explosion of life,
would we ever look back?
The real dharma lives here,
breathing as this that has
never been seen
or heard before -
this symphony of sounds
and sensations right now -
the rustle of leaves,
a chorus of birds,
the ache in my back,
the rush of color everywhere,
this wondrous mystery of thought,
appearing then disappearing
like everything else...
This is the living dharma,
this timeless presence
that welcomes everything
that has come before but
is defined by none of it -
every teaching, every tradition,
the words you are reading now,
all of them, gone,
consumed in the fires
of this living truth...
John Astin
Photo: Peter Bowers