Practice, Don’t Say; Be And Learn. Don’t Explain

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In seeking word and action, rather than being, we suffer
Seeking what we have seen, and had…we suffer more, until…
Having, we learn, and fill ourselves
Then, empty, or full, we find contentment, or loss, again…
And the cycle continues…

. . .

Joe poured tea, today

He, Eunbong, Fina, and I enjoyed the company of one another

Joe and I spoke of words, as the clouds, sky, and sun…
Poured warm, bright light…into the seventh floor window
Onto us, the tea, and the wood
It was “good”

The balancing company of sangha heals us

Hues of sepia, deep and light, sent dreamy images and aromas,
Up to our senses,
From the cups

I asked about an aspect of love

Joe said, “I don’t think about it.”
Brief, and almost empty, yet apparently resonant…
Like the sound that the copper bowl made, when we invited it to ring, earlier…
Joe’s words stealthily disappeared in me,
For I let their momentary ’emptiness’ go,
Like the bell-sound of the bowl

Then we talked about practice, and talking about practice
We agreed that practice described in sentences
Does not convey the deeper experience that practice reveals

It was at this time that Joe’s answer about love
Appeared to me about practice, and more…

As in love, in practice

In seeking descriptions, definitions, and a record of what happened
We are found to be saying something different-from what the listener can understand…
Without experience

This is suffering,
As we seek the gratification that words often cannot produce
And only experience, and practice
Can truly reveal,
And teach