Walking with Buddha
by june Friday, Jan 25 2013, 10:19pm
international / poetry / post

if you walk with Buddha
on your right then be assured
Mara, the great tempter, is immediately to your left

this world is defined by opposites --
but for the notion of ‘good,’
‘evil’ could not exist.

the more we toil to
achieve a particular objective
the closer its opposite approaches;
great achievements are necessarily accompanied
by greats falls,
polarities are inextricably bound
everything is defined by its opposite;

locked in mutual embrace, polarised forces
vie for supremacy,
eternal conflict appears to be
the one consistent characteristic of this plane
or is it a signpost to salvation?

if we strive for a high ideal,
we risk the usurper
stealing our prize,
it is the dilemma of the ages
prompting an ancient poet/scribe
to vent his frustration
and despair,
‘there is nothing new
under the sun,’ he wrote
when in reality the opposite is true
nothing remains the same
for an instant;

conservatives toil in vain to preserve
and chisel their values in stone
only to have them disintegrate
before their eyes

whenever great calamity or ‘evil’ dominates
be assured its total defeat is inevitable,
as it creates all the forces necessary
for its own destruction; it’s as certain as the cycles
of night and day.

it seems we face a dilemma
in this world,
the fruitless and futile struggle of polar opposites
or the choice of freedom, emancipation.

ancient and modern scribes
have shown the way,
it has been written;
‘If you see the Buddha on the road, kill him!’

Indeed, all teachers are frauds whether by intent,
circumstance, folly or tradition --
no-one can give you
what you already possess unless they lie and deceive.
gurus are slaves to their disciples
as their disciples are slaves to their gurus/masters,
however, the obvious fact remains,
emancipation is a singular endeavour
and a highly personal attainment.

following or subscribing to any teaching, person
or existing inscription
-- doctrine, dogma or discipline --
is the height of perversity,
Liberation is not found in the binding
chains of prescription.

Why should we kill the Buddha
or crucify a Christ?

we do so to shatter the bonds
of blind obedience (slavery) and free
ourselves from the inculcated dreams/myths
of culture -- [remember] culture is the mother
of all binary oppositions and polarities
and culture, as is evident today, is inherently perverse/sick,
i need not qualify the obvious.

consider the strange narrative of the Gospel of Luke
in which the victorious end is presented at the beginning.
Prior to the apparent defeat, victory is asserted at the outset.
the protagonist figure is tempted by his opposite,
thesis and anti-thesis struggle and the protagonist
overcomes, not by vanquishing his opponent, but by
disengagement; the opponent is acknowledged
but not engaged ('get thee behind me').

the futility of the endless struggle of polar opposites is
clearly avoided in favour of another way.

the Buddha also avoids polar extremes and advocates
the middle ground.
both narrative figures acknowledge our world of corruption,
misery and perversity but demonstrate that the optimum approach
to divisive extremes is to understand,
withdraw your active or passive support, but never subscribe
or take ‘sides.’

now, you would be a fool to believe in or subscribe to anything i say,
wouldn’t you?

you have been free since your inception, any bonds are purely illusory
and self-imposed, all constraints are of your own taking (subscribing) not making;
you (not your body) have been made whole, perfect in every way
complete.

Are we aware of any leaders today that lie and deceive?

would you continue to actively or passively support cultural perversity,
divisive hatred and destruction or would you withdraw your subscription/support
and allow harmony to prevail?