The Middle Way: Book of Poetry on Buddhism and Living Well.

P O E T R Y A N D Q U O T A T I O N S F O R C O N S C I O U S L I V I N G

by Rose Carman

The

Middle Way

To my Mom for inspiring creativity

and my Dad for instilling peacefulness.

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Cover photo: Djanbung Gardens, Nimbin, NSW, Australia.

The book was created using iBooks Author 2.0, and printed on Envirocare 100% Recycled stock by Vertifix Printing in Sydney, NSW, Australia.

Foreword The Buddha said that the ‘middle way,’ the path between deprivation and overindulgence, leads to liberation. This is the path we all must take in order to not only cease the destruction of our world, but also to bring an end to our own suffering. The ‘middle way’ requires moderation and wisdom, and changing our lifestyle in order to restore health to ourselves and to the planet.

The inspiration for this book comes from the urgent need to sustain our natural world, as well as Buddhist teachings of the Dharma (the natural Law that upholds the universe), and Buddhist principles of interconnectedness, mindfulness, and the Four Noble Truths.

These poems were written while traveling through eastern Australia between January and April of 2013 with the School For International Training study abroad program Sustainability and Environmental Action (SIT). See ‘Endnotes’ for brief reflections on select poems.

While compiling the book I spent three weeks living an environmentally sustainable lifestyle in a low-waste house in Coogee, a beach suburb of Sydney, and attended meditation and yoga classes at the Livingroom Yoga School. I also spent ten days practicing meditation and working at the Santi Forest Monastery, where I learned from the monastics about Theravada Buddhist history, tradition, and regulatory structure (vinaya).

The intention of “The Middle Way” is to create awareness of the heart and mind and of our connection to nature. Often we unconsciously let our thoughts and feelings run amok within us; poetry is one way of bringing awareness to this inner space. My goal is not to take a religious standpoint, but rather to motivate action for change by communicating Buddhist principles.

The quotations are collected from those individuals whose words, written or spoken, I find to be particularly inspiring.

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T H E M I D D L E WAY

“…the words themselves are not important. They are not the Truth; they only point to it.”

-Eckhart Tolle

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Awakening

Pt. I

As we turn our heads toward the west,

Vermillion skies fade into black but first:

The soft pink as sweet as budding blossoms

Yellow glinting like the ripe seeds on a stalk.

Purples plush behind feathery clouds

Soft and whispering

Anticipating shadows yet to come.

Fleeting visions of those that are in danger,

Calling out for help against the glowing sky,

Calling, screaming out for help,

Recognition that we are destroying them.

Don’t break the plane of the window.

Don’t break their flesh with your bullets

They’re not here to interfere

We interfere.

Fear enters

Moments building upon moments

Stacking higher and higher, teetering

My heart flips and flutters sideways

Back and forth, up and down

A long way to fall.

Waiting, waiting, where are they?

Stars peek out in the east.

Then they came,

Infinite strings of shadows calling,

Screaming out for help.

We were not so much breathless as breath-full

Mellow March air rushed into shaking lungs,

Rivers of shadows passed by again and again

Swarms of whirring insect-beasts

They landed out of sight.

Pt. II

They must have arisen

Coming towards us, circling again and again

We waited

Suspended in awe and humility

When the first one alighted

On the black glass that was the river

My skin prickled and my eyes swam.

How can I forsake disclosing

That fingers laced tightly together

In awe and humility?

Endangered, fragile we stood –

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Bodies rigid and careful to keep

From breaking the plane of the window

As they settled, gathered.

And the calling, the soothing, cooing

Or were they screaming out for help?

All light had gone,

Our eyes now finely tuned to the blackness

Made out shapes and envisioned

Great distances traveled and horrors overcome.

Pt. III

Exiting, no longer blinded

No longer caged by carpeted walls

The stars pierced accustomed eyes

And vulnerable hearts.

We walked with craned necks

Heads bent back

In awe and humility.

Crackling sticks of the riverside snapped

Underneath our feet

The earth breathed life into the night

Or maybe it was the other way around

And in the dark the newness was created.

They come, they land,

They call out for help while we watch.

It happens every day.

This happens every day.

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“…Perhaps then, by embracing the vulnerability that comes with loss and movement and painful partings, we remind ourselves that to be lost is to be found anew,

we realize that to move is to be still in a way that defies location, and that our pains are the portals, the finger holes through which the multiverse blows out mercurial tunes…”

- Bayo Akomolafe

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The River

We floated down the riverspinning, smiling,cold in the water but heated by the sun.Faces warm and turned upward or toward each otherrunning.Little did we know… we were flung to and fro,over rapids, rushing by boulders androot systems intertwined. Ripples and rocks, leaves logs and twigs at times careeningat times serenely floating,floating.Little did we know…

Then we had floated, still the river diverged. We held on tugging at the other to new streams at times I thought you'd drowned at times I thought I'd drowned I think we both did at times Only to resurface to find ourselves fleeting,

still floating. Little did we know…

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“Don’t get stuck on the level of words… The word honey isn’t honey. You can study and talk about honey for as long as you like,

but you won’t really know it until you taste it.”

- Eckhart Tolle

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Cradle Mt.

Tiny worlds

a cheek pressed against the ground

the smell

ah, the smell…

If only we were small enough to see

this tiny plant as a tree

to be

the beholder of this perspective

no bigger than little black lizards

on the wall

the feel

ah, the feel…

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“The world is too magical, too promiscuous, too disrespectful to abide faithful to any one conception of it.”

- Bayo Akomolafe

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Night Swim

silver waters wash ashore

warm against breeze-cooled skin

shake sand from salty hair

glitters gold in the moonlight

lit up in the dark night

sky scattered with stars

worlds far from here

with less words to say

and more waves to hear

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“[The] intention is that we want to wake up, we want to ripen our compassion, and we want to ripen our ability to let go, we want to realize our connection with all beings.”

- Pema Chödrön

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Abroad

We’ll look upon these days

as tiny budding greenery

scuttling bugs on dew dropped leaves

the heavy heat

and coastal winds.

We’ll look upon these days

as painful and rough

yet laced with light

and with laughter.

We’ll remember, hearts aching

the warm ocean,

moonlight on the sand.

But why wait to look back?

Look now!

It’s happening.

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“If you are doing the right thing for the earth, she's giving you great company.”

- Vandana Shiva

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Country Road

leaf-dappled light

green acres sliding by and whispering,

dancing delicate delighted

gently lowered through the valley

tasting air and sun spots

atop moulded mountains of green and green

crackle of gravel

grazing cows lift lazy heads as we sigh

silently staring as we go by

that’s how it was when we drove down the middle

walked the line, just impolite

a year later nothing’s changed

or maybe nothing’s the same

except the thorns and vines

and whispering,

dancing delicate dreams of countryside winding

fences stationed ‘round

and around

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“No other life form on the planet knows negativity, only humans, just as no other life-form violates and poisons the Earth that sustains it.”

- Eckhart Tolle

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Public Transportation

What happens in the space between?

Breathing in the heat of the day,

And breathing out a cool ocean spray

Over the masses busy shopping,

Busy being busy.

Their heat rising,

Taking in their bustle

Exchanging in the space between

Issuing out new breath like a soft breeze

Let it touch their cheeks

Let it guide them to this edge.

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“Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.”

- The Buddha

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Mother Ocean

Pray that you may open your mind’s eye

so that when you look upon the sea

you see the Mother I see.

The space in between the earth and the sky

the place where I hover

held, groundless

in silence

awake

and in dreams, breathing.

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“Many people are so imprisoned in their minds that the beauty of nature does not really exist for them. They might say ‘What a pretty flower,” but that’s just a mechanical

labeling. Because they are not still, not present, they don’t truly see the flower, don’t feel its essence, its holiness – just as they don’t see themselves, don’t feel their own essence,

their own holiness.”

- Eckhart Tolle

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Backyard

alighted on a silken petal

to find a water droplet

rolling

reflecting

the color garden

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"The greatest art is to attain a balance, a balance between all opposites, a balance between all polarities. Imbalance is the disease and balance is health.

Imbalance is neurosis, and balance is well-being."

- Osho

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The Flame

In the long flame of a burning candleloneliness,(the feeling when you sit alone by a campfire)longing, then nothing…

Then joy!Playfulness as it jumped and danced and trembled like a heart-space exposed. All around the room glowed whitetiny wisps of dark grey smoke licked the glass, fading.

Instead of fanning the flame,plunging into the depths of the sea,

silent and calm

quiet.

Air lights the fireWater cools the airand earth feeds the flame.

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“Expansion never happens through greediness or pushing or striving. It happens through some combination of learning to relax where you already are

and, at the same time, keeping the possibility open that your capacity, my capacity, the capacity of all beings, is limitless.”

- Pema Chödrön

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The Cave Pt. I

Today I found

The cave that is my torso

Dark, drops of water

Drip, drop

Silence

Drip, drop

Needs air

A mouth

The wind that is my breath.

Today I lit

a fire in the cave

crackling, sparks

Snaps, whirs

Silence

Drip, drop

Feeds on air

My soul

The cave that is my torso.

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“Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.”

- The Buddha

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Home

brilliant light

golden glowing

everything else fades

fuzzy around me

buzzing around me

singing in the kitchen

washing dishes

smells delicious

cool earth on warm toes

he doesn’t know

he doesn’t know

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"The real thief is ‘worrying.’ It takes away your time in enjoying life. The future is made right at this moment, thus worrying about the future

is the same as neglecting your future."

- Ajahn Brahm

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Questioning

what are you most afraid of ?

can you be afraid of the past?

of something that’s not happening?

certainly we are fearful for the future

but the past?

our idea of Time

so limited!

could we see that we live life

just one way

out of infinite ways?

that life could be lived…

oh, that life could be lived any way!

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“Rather than appreciate where we are, we continually struggle and nurture our dissatisfaction.

It’s like trying to get the flowers to grow by pouring cement on the garden.”

- Pema Chödrön

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Unlocked

Epileptic images

Unfurling flower-sounds surrounded us.

The room, unlocked,

Untouchable and hopeless

A primetime life situation.

Fluttering curtains, eyelids and eye lashes

the feeling coming and going like a dandelion seed

wished upon the wind

on the day when you’re not quite sure

what

or why

or how you came to be

or where you are

or who you are

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“The French translation of ‘wandering’ is l’errance, the Latin root of which means to make a mistake. By our errors we see deeper into life. We learn from them.”

- Robyn Davidson

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What You Find There

Take me to the dock

Stand and watch the water

Weaving and rippling

Lapping up against ancient wood

Of violences past.

Turn around one hundred times

And see how we’ve remained

Unchanged.

Two bad bricks

In a wonder-wall

Was all it was

Wasn’t it?

Or did our monument crumble

To make way for new buildings?

Flowers may grow again one day,

Mightn’t they?

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“Are you polluting the world or cleaning up the mess? You are responsible for your inner space; nobody else is, just as you are responsible for the planet. As within, so without: if humans clear inner pollution, then they will also cease to create outer pollution.”

- Eckhart Tolle

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Fireplace

tender quivering heart

raw place

lurches at the slightest touch

hovers over hot embers

beneath smoky rooms

in the space where it’s safe to crawl

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“Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves,

the black, curious eyes of a child – our own two eyes. All is a miracle."

- Thich Nhat Hanh

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The Cave Pt. II

I remember the sea caves

carved out of sandstone,

soft salty floors,

etched initials on the walls.

In the summer

when the sand was high

the cave was nothing

but a ledge under which we'd crouch.

In the winter

when the ceiling was high

a place to sit

and contemplate silent fog.

Waves would rush in

and kiss tiny toes.

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“No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.”

- The Buddha

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The Forest

Listen to the silence,

Even when there’s noise

Find the littlest spaces,

Even with no void.

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“We are always coming and going, coming and going.”

- Lalantha

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Kataññu

Kataññu in Pāli, the language spoken by the Buddha, means gratitude.

I would like to acknowledge my parents and friends for their continued positivity and their support of all that I do, my advisor Dr. Eshana Bragg for her guiding light and constructiveness, the SIT staff and students for constantly teaching me new ways of seeing the world, Cecilia Nunez for welcoming me into her home and including me in her sustainable lifestyle, the monastics and laypeople at Santi Forest Monastery for their hospitality and loving-kindness, Bayo Akomolafe for his inspiring talk at the Economics of Happiness Conference, and to our Earth for her beauty, strength, and determination.

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Endnotes The following are brief reflections on each poem. Awakening

Originally titled ‘Arrival of the Birds,’ this poem was actually written in March of 2012 after an Environmental Studies class trip to Kansas and Nebraska, USA. It is a relevant prologue for this book, as it was the beginning of my creative expression of an ‘awakening’ to emotional connections with the natural world.

The RiverOn the Gordon River in Tasmania.

Cradle Mt.SIT study trip to Cradle Mountain, Tasmania.

Night SwimIn Byron Bay, New South Wales.

AbroadAt times early on in the trip I started to think about how I’d eventually look back

and remember my study abroad experience, but in doing so, I missed what was happening in the present moment. The only way to affect the ‘then’ is to act in the ‘now.’

Country RoadI wrote this after taking a drive through the countryside north of Lismore, New

South Wales. I was incredibly moved by the landscape, and was reminded of land-scapes I’d seen on the Great Plains in the USA the previous year. I was delighted to find similarities of two vastly different geographical locations.

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Public TransportationThis poem is based on the meditation practice of Tonglen, which involves

breathing in the suffering of others and in turn breathing out happiness to those beings. While using public transportation and walking around a great deal in Sydney, I found Tonglen meditation a good way to spread loving-kindness to strangers and avoid getting overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle.

Mother OceanI intentionally chose to live near the ocean to complete this book. Lulled to sleep by

the waves as a child, I made a point to stay close by living in Coogee. I have always drawn inspiration from the ocean, and the intention of this poem is to spread this appreciation. With that appreciation I hope will develop the need for preservation of this omnipotent body of water.

BackyardCecilia, who I lived for three weeks, has a lush and thriving garden in the backyard

of her house in Coogee. This poem was inspired by her wonderful plot, but also by the impressive backyard and community gardens that the study program visited.

The FlameThis poem describes an insight I had during a group meditation about the need for

the balance of elements in my own life and in the world. This insight affirmed one of the main messages of this project: working for inner balance will create outer balance and healing the self will heal nature.

The Cave Pt. IGroup meditation, Coogee, New South Wales.

HomeWritten after spending a sunny day in the garden in Coogee, New South Wales.

QuestioningDrawing upon traditional wisdom and indigenous worldview, I wrote this poem

after the study program went on an Aboriginal camping trip. Westernized notions about how life should be lived, although dominant, are limited and by no means describe a be-all end-all way to live. Listening to Dreamtime stories of Aboriginal

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ancestry broadened my understanding of existence, especially in terms of connection with nature.

UnlockedA reflection on past, present, and future.

FireplacePutting logs on the fire at Santi Forest Monastery, Bundanoon, New South Wales.

The Cave Pt. IIMemories of Mitchell’s Cove from my childhood in Santa Cruz, Ca., USA.

What You Find ThereThis poem, written after my stay at the Santi Forest Monastery, was inspired by a

story told by Buddhist teacher Ajahn Brahm. In short, the story says that people tend to build walls in which 998 bricks are laid beautifully but all we see are the two bricks that we laid crookedly. Rather than acknowledging all the good work we’ve done with the 998 others we let the two bad bricks represent the entire wall.

When we are trying to make change in the world it’s important to recognize the goodness that exists, goodness we can continue to build upon.

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About the Author

Rose Carman was born and raised by the ocean in Santa Cruz, Ca., USA. As an only child, brought up in a large and loving group of friends, she has a strong connection to her hometown and its community. She attended the Santa Cruz Waldorf School grades 1-8 where she first took an interest in writing poetry, and at Santa Cruz High School (2006-2010) she continued her creative writing. Rose is currently enrolled as an Environmental Studies major at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, Ny., USA and plans to continue to work with environmental and spiritual sustainability after graduation in 2014. She’s travelled to Mexico, Costa Rica, England, France, Canada, and

Australia. She likes grilled veggies, candied ginger, and swimming in the ocean.

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The Middle Way: Book of Poetry on Buddhism and Living Well.

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