Buddha on The Seeker

Ingredients:

Sayings of Buddha on "The Seeker".
Rendered in haiku form.

This is twenty-fifth in the series.

The image is "Angel" by the American painter Abbott Handerson Thayer.

Directions:

Master of each sense,
It is good to know what you
See, hear, smell and taste.

Control your body,
Speech and mind, for through restraint,
Seekers end sorrow.

Mastering the hand,
The foot, the speech, the whole self,
You find contentment.

Delighting alone
In calm and insight practice,
They call him Seeker.

He is measured, wise,
Mind composed, expounding Truth,
His words like honey.

He abides in truth,
His joy, his practice, his mind
Blessed by truth’s virtue.

Don’t disdain your lot,
Nor envy others their gains,
Or you lose focus.

Be grateful your lot,
However little, and live
Pure and diligent.

One who’s not attached
To the mind-and-body form
Is a true seeker.

He does not think “I”
Or “mine”, nor mourns for his loss,
Knowing all will pass.

Kind and devoted
To Buddha’s way, you’ll find Calm
Unconditioned Bliss.

Bale out the water.
The empty boat sails smoothly,
Free from lust or hate.

Five things you will cut,
Five you give up, five you grow,
To free the five bonds.

Selfishness and doubt,
Hypocrisy, lust and hate.
These five things you cut.

Five you give up: birth,
Body and soul, restlessness
Conceit and darkness.

With faith, energy,
Mindfulness, concentration
And wisdom you grow.

Free from lust and hate,
Delusion, pride and wrong views,
You break the five bonds.

Master of the fives,
He who’s crossed the river’s flood,
They call him Knower.

Meditate, mindful,
Not lost to pleasure’s suffering
That cries out, “Enough!”

With wisdom comes calm,
With calm comes wisdom. With both,
You are close indeed.

Alone, mind at peace,
Seeing truth, you feel the heart
Of joy transcendent.

Observe this moment!
Enjoy how things rise and pass.
This is wise practice.

Begin by mastering
Your senses, your contentment
And your moral code.

Find friends pure and bright.
Be yourself a kind good friend.
Through joy, end sorrow!

As the jasmine plant
Sheds its withered flowers, you too
Should shed lust and hate.

Graceful, free from want,
Calm in body, speech and mind,
They call him Peace-Man.

Examine, reproach,
Encourage, and teach yourself,
Your own mindful guard.

Be your own refuge!
How could another be so?
Your peace lies with you.

Take care of yourself
As a horse dealer takes care
Of his favourite horse.

Through gladness and faith
In Buddha’s way, you’ll find Calm
Unconditioned Bliss.

Even one who’s young,
If devoted, lights the world
With Buddha’s teaching.

May you too shine forth
Upon the way, like the moon
Rising from the clouds.