Bodhi Day 2023 Poetry Slam

Whenyouleteverythinghappento you Itallexists;agentlefarce nipsthelittleeyeonyourleg; thenyousit, withoutahome,itallfloatsbywithout amouth.

Zazen

byMikeWood(JinjiSunya)

Waking byJonsonMiller

Whensleeping, webelieveourdreams.

Whenawake, webelieveourmadness.

Whatistheretowakeup from?

Whatistheretowakeupto?

Wakeupfrombelieving.

Don'tbelieve, love!

TheUnawakening

byDaeanCitta

Ihatethatguywho’salwaysrantingontheinternet aboutpeoplehehates.Hemakesmefeelawful.

Haveyoutriedmeditation?

Once,butmymindkeptracingsoitdidn’thelp. Maybehatredismakingyoufeelawful;haveyou triedgivinguphatred?

Butthere’ssomuchtohate!Iwanttheworldtobea betterplace!

—Wantingthingstobedifferentthantheyare makesyoufeelawful.

Haveyoutriedgivingupwantingthings?

No,that’sstupid.Peoplewantthings. Andpeoplesuffer.Doyoulikesuffering? Ihatesuffering.AndI’mstartingtohatethis conversation.

—Haveyoutriedmeditation?

salad

byRobertKohoEpstein

AsIatethesalad

Theglassrangthebell.

enlightenedvanilla

byRobertKohoEpstein

“Areyouenlightened?”

“NoI'mjustvanilla.”

WinterHaiku

byBryantShunyaGuy

Giantmetalpipe

Carriesimpurewastewater

Tobepurified

Wherecoldwatermeets

withothercoldwaterducks

Splashinghappily

Manytypesofgrass

Alluniquespeciesbutin

Winterthesamebrown

Onewhitegymshoeleft

Inthecoldbrowngrasssomewhere

Thereisonecoldfoot Brightlypaintedwall

Ofturquoiseandgoldstandsout

Inthisbrownlandscape

Duck'sheadtuckedtightin

Foldsoffeatherswoventight

Againstwinter'scold

Bittercoldriver

Buttheduckskeepdivingin

Forthefoodbelow

Waterwantstoflow

Andtheicelaughsasitflows

againaswater

Noweaponsallowed

Norevensunflowerseeds

EverythingKeepOut!

Riverlanguidly flowsnexttobikersflowing

Hastilypastit

Treestaggedforstudy

Butthey'vebeenstudyingus

Quizzicallyforyears

Justastumpisleft

Ofatreethatgrewforyears

Beaverneededit

Justastumpisleft

Atreethatgrewforyearsis

Nowabeaverdam

Sculpturesmadebyman

Surroundedinaparkby

Nature'ssculptures--trees

MiracleofBeing

byRobertKohoEpstein

Torealizethemiracleofbeingalivingbeing. Wonderfulandunfathomable.

Thosewhoaregoneastonishuswiththeir absence.

Thosewhoareheresurpriseuswiththeir presence.

Gimmesaké

Itellyouhowa haikudrankthecrickets. What'sso freeabout freespeech?

Moonrockflowersstars, Auniverseenjoys imagining itself.

TrickorTreatSantōka ⼭頭⽕

byScottWatson 万流庵 2023

Iftalking werewalking wouldweknow whatwe'rewalkingabout?

Ittookas manyyears asIamold tounlearn whoIam.

castingmybreadon thewater

byRobertKohoEpstein

castingmybreadonthewater emptyingmypockets relievingthebonesandmuscles ofweight driftingintothesun

Languorousleavesfloat downstream,sun dapplingthecreek. Pauseawhileand breathe.

--DaeanCitta

Monk byVenCheolsong

ThereoncewasamonkfromNantucket, Whopolishedhismindlikeanugget, Butmindisathing

Likeaninstrumentstring

Alloneneeddoistopluckit.

ThereoncewasamonkfromNantucket, Whopolishedhismindlikeanugget, Butmindisathing

Likeaninstrumentstring

Alloneneeddoistopluckit.

Ancestors(Asijo)

byMyeongJinEunsahn

Ancestors, Whydidtheycome?WastheEast notgoodenough?

Didtheyknowbeforetheywereleavinghome

What’stobedone?

Nositting underneaththetree

didthedharma cometothem?

0.(argument)

Each oftwelvelines canberead asacorrespondingnidāna oraslanguage touching onemeaning misunderstanding orinquiry intothese twelvelinks

TWELVE-FOLDCHAINPOEMS

byJacobJBillingsley

i. Notknowing

Howitcomestobe

Themindfindsit

In10,000things

Insixkindsoffeeling

Itwouldseemthatit’s

Theroughtrunkandskin

Somethingyouneed

Butjustkeepgoing

Arealelephantwalking

Asrealasyourpractice

Whileitcanpractice

ii. Youcan’tyetsay: Bothkarmaandwill: Whatrealizescansee

Ijustcallouttoit: Feelingandhearing

Nowarefeltandheard: Thebellisringing. Thebellinitsringing

Wasneversoniceasnow.

Ijustputbellonmantle andwillletitsoundeachday. Itcouldalwaysringthisway.

iii. anything canchange itsmind andanswer bytasting coolwater cannotnourish exceptbybeing coolwater becomingwarm

iv.

whatwas continues

asit’sseen madevisible thepupillooks within/without soyou ’veheard whatallthis about doyouneed it youdonow needthismoment

justasitgoes

v.

thedarkearth

stillunderyourfeet

isthinkingmicrobes

thedeepbiosphere

Iguessthesmellofearth

istherebecome

stone-made-soilandabyssalmuck

whereyoutrample

solayyourbodydown

likeawhalefall

vi.

justabyss

untilsubmersed

inthegodmind

anoceanin-brighten’d aneyeseeingfar

likeabaleofstraws droptinclearestwater drinkinganddrinking thebrinesaltthirsting afterwhatlivesthere

mineralandwater

breakingthemembrane

anditsstinkingblubber

becomebone

IstandwithPeople

NotwithanyGovernments

Governmentsdon’tbleed

Avalokiteshvara

Hearstheircriesandcriesherself

Irreverent(Tanka)

byMyeongJinEunsahn

Shakyamunisat

Intherainwithbirdsandsnakes

Andthenhewokeup

Wipedthesleepoutofhiseyes

Andhadabowlofporridge

approaches

byRobertKohoEpstein

Onegoestothelibraryand studiesuponallthings; Anothergoestothesea, watchingthewavesand feelingtheflow; Thethirdshakesouttheir sleeves, andjumpsintothewaterwith nodestination.

saxreed byRobertKohoEpstein

saxreed scruffy cutup split

andsomethingtookabiteoutofthetip yetsomehow"miraculously"stillplays

thesqueakyscratchynotesIwanttogetoutofit

inaflurryandahurry

UnlikeGeorgeColeman

Idon'tcarewherethenotesland

oftentimestheylandinouterspace irretrievable

AndIdon'tnoticeanyonejumpingupintheair totrytopullthembackdowntoearth thereed scratchedupandbroken

isthemostrealcomponentofmyplaying

liketherelationshiptolife

everythingisalittlebroken butstillkindofplays

Poeticreflectiononthe PhenaSutta

byBradAmaronandaHunter

1)

Studyingthemountainsandriverssutra Inthebackofmyhand.

Theysaythereisa‘farthershore’.

Butit’sincreasinglycoldandunpredictableoutside Andanythingcanhappeninthisicyboilofchange.

Butclosertohome, Beforethesensesareevenborn, Theraftofdeliverancebeginstonaturallyfloat Inwardsanddownwards, Oncurrentsofeaseandrelease, Followingthescentofapeacethatsurpassesunderstanding Andthesweetsaltytasteoffreedomintheheart.

2) Anabandonedoldship

Sanktothefloorofthesea.

Foryearstheheavywetdust

Hasbeenfillingthehulldaily, Securingitfirmlyinthe Groundofthedepths.

Theghostsofancientsailorsperiodically Riseagaintothesurface,restlesslywanderingon Intheirwanting sheerhabitandsenseofpoverty.

Buteventheyhavegrownwearyoftherisingandfalling Ofthewaves,

Andtheendlessparadeofstrangebeasts

Easinginandoutoftheportholes.

Allthewhile Theceaselesscurrentoftheunmoving Humsthroughouttherustandtherot.

3)

Myfailureisalmostcomplete. Non-becomingisthegreatestsuccess. Beingnooneisthesublimeease.

Asthebodycontinuesitsinevitableslide Towardscompostanddust, Mynameescapesme. Mylife’swork, Dreamsonaforgottenshore.

Theradianceofatimelessmoondawnsintheheart.

IrestinthelightoftheUnborn.

4)

Inthemiddleofthenight, Thepellucidfullmoonlight

Penetratestothebottom

Oftheancientmountainpool.

Itperfectlyilluminatesandreflects

Theinfinitevarietyofungraspableapparitions

Dartingupanddown,hereandthere.

Andevenwhenthewaterroilsandrages, Themoonlightdoesnotgetwet.

Neitherwavesnordepthsarechurnedinthisradiance.

5)

Relinquishingclinging

Tothethingnessofthings

AndtheI-nessofI—

Atimelesslightilluminates

Thesensefieldsandgates. Thetenthousandthings, Transparentfabrications, Justastheyare,

ContinuallypreachtheDharma

InthisClearRadiance.

6)

Attheedgeofadesertmirage

Ipulledamagictrick

Plantedabananatreeindrysand.

Triedtosustainitinvain, Wrappingthetreeinacloudoffoam, Sprinklingitconstantlywithfleetingbubbles.

TheBuddhaisHungry

byMyeongJinEunsahn

TheMasteraskedtheassembly,

“WhatdidBuddhahaveforbreakfast?!?

“Mangoes,”“Riceporridge,”“bananas,”“Don'tknow.”

“Oh,Buddhaisstillveryhungry!”