Tag: samsara

stuck in a strange dream

something pours forth
more than drip coffee-
stained teeth talking
     tra la la la laughing
                    nodding
friendship observed from far away
as an outcast
           is poor and pushed      away
like an empty cup
                                           discarded

having been discarded
something pours forth
more than sour milk-
              tangy untold tastes
as the flavour demands to remain
   unexplored, as exploded flora
   unconsumed, as the lucky
and avoided, not to be poured
           into unsuspecting ears
      as poison

it’s unnerving to see the world’s poison
        having been discarded
     something pours forth
more than oceans of nectar
         higher than the salt rising tides
of melted glaciers
         racing t’ward our eyes
burying our thighs
       dragging us down, down, down
underneath oceans of hectic thoughts
tightening internal knots
as we struggle to purify the winds
         not absolved
              our will is pinned

a longing has my mind pinned
it’s unnerving to see the world’s poison
        having been discarded
     something pours forth
a yearning, misunderstood
     in a brave new world
             where craving has been replaced with the misery of immediate gratification
more like instant suffocation
erasure of the will to live
when we have nothing to live for
and absent meaning, blame and cry
without the need to sleep at night
enlisting a maid-service
to tuck us into final slumber
of course, without finality
           we are merely mistaken

when all conception is mistaken
           to whom can we turn for truth
a longing has my mind pinned
it’s unnerving to see the world’s poison
        having been discarded
something pours forth
         a quiet stream of mourning
like the coo of doves
             but unrelenting as the suffering
as below, so above
     and though I thought a perfect fit
samsara is no glove
and as much as I search and search
        here one finds no love

so we develop great compassion and love
      and become these pure minds because
when all conception is mistaken
           to whom can we turn for truth
a longing has my mind pinned
it’s unnerving to see the world’s poison
        having been discarded
something pours forth
a breaking open has released
     a destruction of self cherishing
       a fountain of new belief
         an altruistic motivation
           a happiness now streams
makes me wonder why we stay stuck
           in these haunting dreams
    when we could just wake up!

Tags abstract poem, buddhist poet, canadian poet, creativity, dream poem, dreamlike appearance, dreamlike reality, emptiness, misery, nonsense poem, poem, Poetry, rebirth, renunciation, samsara, Saturday Expressions, suffering

Poetry Thirsty Thursday

Selfish self love

It is tempting to allow
false flattery to ripen pride,
despite our knowledge
that it’s born from a lie

It is tempting to perform
false charity to improve
a meaningless reputation –
what rock of suffering moved?

Self-cherishing is our sickness
the mind of a sneaky bastard
cunningly leading us to evil business
until virtuous focus is mastered

Tags attachment, creative writing, devil within, eight worldly concerns, evil, greatest sin, hooked, meaningless, mental disease, poem, Poetry, pride, reputation, samsara, self cherishing, selfishness, sin

Poetry

Wild reflex

I am a wild animal
a structure is like a cage
I do not feel free in imagination
there is no longing to belong

I feel imprisoned by this other vision
I feel the enclosure around me
there was no escape
I must escape

I was once wild
the habits are hard to shake
the imprints are deep-rooted
though only small seedlings at surface
I am ruled by fear and concern
I long to run, having never learned

I am waiting to be released
like an animal waits
forgetting I have hands
forgetting I have keys

Poetry

Obsession

grabs my attention
quick to hold fascination
locked in, samsara

Tags a poem a day, addiction, attachment, desirous attachment, fantasy, Grasping ignorance, haiku, mental habits, obsession, poem, Poetry, samsara, self cherishing, short poem, spring is the season of haiku

Poetry

grateful lament

I cannot complain when I know the cause
I cannot point finger as I’m to blame
there’s no why me with the reasons clear
beyond this time and place and name

I’ve been a stupid man countless times over
I’ve been a dumb boy, many times round
I’ve appeared the greater sex and his enjoyments
now I suffer for all his fun found

Now I’m cursed with monthly lashings
poisoned body and mind, inside and out
miserable in cycles uncontrollable
happy with confidence, then mean and full of doubt

Yet to my male lives I am indebted
for I still stand here, blessed and rare
female and peaceful, lacking will to war
while unattached for others I care

Though I live in pain’s dull embrace
thanks to the men in mirrors faced
Bernhard, Kafka, Thoreau, all others
they laid the plans, now I’ll escape

Having met Dharma in this lifetime
is my pure and saving grace
with faith and steadfastness I practice
to make some meaning of this place

Tags buddhist, complaint, creative writing, cycle of suffering, female poet, lament, ordinary existence, poem, Poetry, rebirth, renunciation, responsibility, samsara, woman writer

Buddhism Saturday Expressions Visual Artwork

Dawn breaks behind Death & other paintings

Post author By K. Samways
Post date March 7, 2026
No Comments on Dawn breaks behind Death & other paintings

A collection of skulls & such –
Death & Impermanence in ink & watercolour

I will definitely die. There is no way to prevent my body from finally decaying. Day by day, moment by moment, my life is slipping away. I have no idea when I will die; the time of death is completely uncertain. Many young people die before their parents, some die the moment they are born – there is no certainty in this world. Furthermore, there are so many causes of untimely death. The lives of many strong and healthy people are destroyed by accidents. There is no guarantee that I will not die today.

Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, The New Meditation Handbook

Tags Buddhist artist, creative artist, death, emotive art, experimental, feeling, grim reaper, Impermanence, ink, mortal, painting, rebirth, samsara, Saturday Expressions, skull, skull painting, water colour

Poetry

Season of Sticky Sweet

How could I forget the taste
of peanut butter and honey
with sliced banana, open-faced
a delightful sandwich, toasted, plain
another sign spring has arrived
the cravings change when March is come
now savouring thick-spread-stuck tongue
quite pleasant and filling, nutty delight
cheap and easy with purse strings tight
indulging breakfast, lunch and dinner
this woman’s sandwich is the winner
one also recognizes the time of year
in the twitterpated words they hear
the birds still dressed in clothes austere
mourning dove then robin, now killdeer
all sing the song that spring has sprung
while I enjoy my buttered tongue

Tags changing seasons, changing suffering, craving, creative writing, female poet, food, food poetry, peanut butter sandwich, poem, Poetry, restless, samsara, sandwich, spring time, twitterpated, unpopular opinion: honey is better than jam, women's work

Note Poetry

Renewed Determination

I’m going to keep doing the right thing.
No matter what.
Hardship does not make me give up. Sorrow does not equate to despair.
I am not a coward.
I will feel the pain and move forward.

Tags Buddhist Poetry, canadian poet, determination, free verse, good actions, happiness, hardship, moral discipline, patience, patient acceptance, poem, Poetry, renewed determination, renunciation, samsara, suffering, virtue

Buddhism Poetry

Close sometimes counts

I am stable, humble, fine
I am patient, wise, and kind
I’ve spent the past six years
training my wandering, restless mind
so if I want conditions now
no external one I’ll find
it’s only by creating causes
that my samsaric rope unbinds

I’ve found this perfect life
with all the misery and strife
with all the teachers and the wisdom
and the mental faculty to listen
to instructions for escape
a perfect path that cannot wait
for only in this lifetime
am I guaranteed this fate

Now it seems I’m close
closer than e’er I’ve been before
and in contemplating emptiness
I’ll walk through freedom’s door
seeing a non affirming negative
I’ll realize truth once more
and by meditating fearlessly and purely
with Buddha’s blessings I implore

Even though I impute this I
and it these attributes ascribe
and unyielding to it relate
and with so many qualities inflate
false sense of self, let’s call it I
and for its suffering, I would die
soon I’ll gain freedom from this me
so silly to chase its own agony

Since I’ve stabilized my practice
becoming grateful and ever kind
I’ve ceased this ceaseless grasping
and all harm of body, speech and mind
so I can live to serve all beings
so all beings can be free
I’ve developed these good qualities
in dependence upon Three

Tags Buddhism, buddhist path, Buddhist Poetry, Buddhist studies, dependent relationship, emptiness of the I, escape, me, poem, Poetry, renunciation, samsara, self, wisdom realizing emptiness

Poetry

Common Denominator

Intelligence and wisdom are rare
uncommon
problems and suffering are abundant
common

When taking stock of your own burdens
count what beasts find refuge in your flock
find the sum of your denominator
this path is carved from jagged rock

There is a division to set you free
based in what is always true
you can’t spell it without “m” and “e”
but it doesn’t exist without “you”

And if you feel this you is everlasting
you might wish for sweet release
but there’s only one place you find escape
in the depths of your mind . . . already at peace

Such a subtle inner destination
difficult without faith to find
absorbed in gross cessation
a very subtle wind will move a very subtle mind

Only a child dreams that death’s jaws
should be an automatic portal
to a supposed better place – or even an end

It would
be, could be
wiser to pretend
we are already happy
with strength to contend
showing a better character
moral discipline and restraint
with bravery and heart not feint
an honour for which all others thirst
and a mind that always puts others first

To figure out what’s common
to the denominator of your life
you just have to find a wisdom mirror
and let go of mindmade strife

The quality we wish to see
is already present –
it’s just buried beneath
aeons of bad habits . . .
and misguided familiarity

divide it out
for there is no
/me

Tags advice, attachment, Buddhism, canadian poet, Canadian poetry, common Denominator, common problems, intelligence, Poetry, renunciation, resources, responsibility, samsara, speaker, valentines day, wisdom