I Wonder

I love
even though
I wonder
at love

like waves
part of the ocean
with each its own life

two singular beings
join
to become greater

a universe
within
a universe

to become greater
join
two singular beings

with each its own life
part of the ocean
like waves

at love
I wonder
even though
I love

The Returning

We invite the light and the tree into our homes as deeply embedded archetypes of the return of the light. In our northren hemisphere, winter has come, the solstice marking the turning of the days.

As we pause in our normal activities to gather with our kindred, many times we are more focused on the outer bustle and the gving of gifts. An internal pause can cause the sensing of a delicate and serene flow, the deep slumber of the solar tide.

May this peace be held throughout the year in our minds and hearts.

In the Temple

Stars.

Blazing, shimmering in the night.

Staring deelpy, we touch the distant body with tendrils of soft light,

drawing it to us, consuming it.

Atention held on the first bite,

the meal is savored.

Experience permeates presence, the spiral rises.

A delicate, incorruptible connection.

She is the star.

Touch her softly as she shines.

Initiate in her light, she responds in kind.

A higher octave.

no ordinary love

Break the bonds of ordinary love,
Capture the treasure and become an immortal.
True renunciation is to realize that the senses are innately pure,
And that you are an image of the universe.

- Tao-chi

There we are each day, looking each other in the eye and knowing nothing, feeling nothing. We think of each other as separate, and why not? The connections do not exist in the tangible world of the senses.

At the bar last night, a man in his thirties and a young lady who proclaimed that she was still in college sat in a lively discussion of the day’s business. All of the men in the bar watched as the suitor wooed her with gin and tonic, doing his best to seduce her.

After awhile, the conversation stalled and she turned to face the men behind her who had previously been discussing terrorism. She asked, “Aren’t the Giants cool? I love the Giants! Don’t you guys?” She swayed forward and caught herself by placing her hand on the nearest man’s thigh, twirling her hair with her other hand, a coy smile on her face.

“I like the Jets”, said the man. The lady laughed loudly. The would-be suitor leaned back, folding his arms and scowling in a pose that would be mimicked by the other men after he left.

“Ok, this conversation is over! I like the Giants!”

After touching the man’s shoulder a few times while wobbling on her stool, she turned to the suitor.

“It’s time to go,” she said, stroking her glass. The suitor took the cue and escorted her to the hotel elevators. The men discussed his technique afterwards. “Yeah, he didn’t like her attention on you,” began one of the men. “I think she was giving him something to think about.”

Everyone laughed, but turned to watch her walk away.

It looked like the suitor was going to make the connection.

But what kind of a connection? Does getting up her skirt somehow make him know her more?

A physical connection is the result of physical desire, yet the connection is temporary like our physical bodies are. In viewing sex in a neutral way,

sex..could if used properly be our greatest ally instead of our dealiest foe. In Tantra, the sex act is neutral; if one acts like an animal or is in any way evil-minded, the repercussions are most grave, but if one behaves as a bodisattva, liberation is close at hand for both partners. Sexual intercourse is generally marred by animal appetite and superficial relief.[1]

The notion that we are trapped in a temporal existence, separated by skin and limited by a finite number of breaths, is inescapable. We all are born, thus we all die. Finding nothing permanent and thus satisfying, we flee into pursuit of pleasure and comfort, not knowing that a neutral attitude towards the very things that bind us to the cube can liberate us.

Even [in animal heat], one or both of the participants usually has a fleeting experience of non-dual bliss. Followers of the Tantra, in a state of acute arousal, aspire to make that experience permanent and of cosmic significance…such communion idealizes the emptyness and supreme bliss of awakening.[1]

To find this state of awakening, in order that we may partake of communion, a guide and a map are necessary. Otherwise, it is like stumbling in the dark and tripping over that what we seek, kicking it into some unknown corner as we do. We must also have the keys to the room, or we may find it empty as the path leading to it:

“To enter the Temple one must lift the second veil and pass between the two pillars. And to pass thus, one must obtain possession of the keys, read the book and understand the symbols. Are you able to do this?”[2]

It is much easier to revert, to feel something if only for a time. It is much easier to stay where we are, not knowing that nothing stands still, not knowing where we are being led. It is much easier to believe in the myth of romantic love, the LaBrea Tar Pit of temporal existence. But even then, sometimes we catch a glimpse:

The lotus flower
Is not stained by the mud;
This dewdrop form,
Alone, just as it is,
Manifests the real body of truth.
-Ikkyu

It is said that one day Ikkyu was walking along a path when he saw a young maiden bathing. He knelt before her and bowed three times in the direction of her yoni. Those who saw him asked why he did this. After all, wouldn’t an ordinary man stare or make some remark? He told them, “women are the treasure house… they are the source of everything which has come forth”.

The source can also a gateway to that from which the source is manifest, if communion is entered from within the Temple. The lingam and the yoni can be the keys to unlock the gateway within, if a neutral attitute can still the waters so that we can see Truth.

…learn to discern the real from the false. Listen only to the Voice that is soundless… Look only on that which is invisible, and remember that in thee thyself is the Temple and the gate to it, and the mystery, and the initiation.[2]

[1] Lust For Enlightenment – Buddhism and Sex, John Stevens
[2] The Symbolism of the Tarot – Philosophy of Occultism in Pictures and Numbers, P. D. Ouspensky