Artist : Geenss Archent
Sleepless nights
Senseless violence
An ocean of tears
Offered to a burning world.
The warmth of Bodhicitta
evaporates the salty water,
protecting us from drowning in grief,
transforming it into rains of prayer
upon the raging fires.
Lashing out with fire and poison can feel empowering
when you have lived with a heart frozen by fear.
But once thawed,
set fire to your own rage, fear, and hatred—
burn them down to their essence.
Indestructible love.
Skillful means.
Fire alone will not birth new life.
We must root into the earth,
swim in deep waters,
and be cleansed by the wind.
We must access the boundless space
where both dream and nightmare manifest.
Rage alone won’t get us home.
Grief alone won’t get us home.
To access the sacred responsibility
of love towards life—
To respond with the best of our ability,
without giving in to the habitual reactions of polarization,
without playing the drama of “one up” and “one down,”
without feeding the internal war
that mirrors the war outside.
To allow fire to purify,
to alchemize rage and sorrow
into courage, love, wisdom, and skillful means.
To allow water to cleanse us
of the stagnation of drowning guilt and shame.
To allow the wind to lift us,
to carry us effortlessly
through changing landscapes.
To allow the earth to root us,
to hold and steady us
in flesh and bone.
To allow space to orient us
in boundless community.
Sleepless nights.
Heartfelt, meaningful prayers
offered to the
Mandala of future Buddhas.
