All posts by : JG

Imagine standing beside a vast sea of flowers, an ocean of color

Spreading out as far as the eye can see in the bright morning sunshine

Beautiful flowers, whichever you choose – daffodils, daisies, tulips, irises

The choice is yours

An ocean of flowers all in full bloom – abundance from horizon to horizon

The smell is sweet and intoxicating

Under a brilliant blue sky, the flowers sway in the breeze

It is your intention to cross the sea

But as you set out, you realize that flowers will be trampled underfoot

With every step you take, flowers will be crushed

You don’t want to, but there is no way to cross without altering their beauty

No way to cross without making your mark

You can’t help it – it’s your weight, it’s gravity, it’s the nature of existence in human form

You cannot help but damage some flowers on your soul’s path

That is the suffering of samsara

So you set out across the ocean

If you follow a straight path, you cross faster – but damage less

If you get lost, if you zig zag, you see more – but you damage more

So which is better – to cross faster or experience more?

Perhaps you wish to cross the ocean without damage?

Perhaps you wish not to cross the ocean at all?

For that cannot be

It is the essence of our existence, we must cross

But remember, flowers grow back

And are only temporary – without inherent existence, without permanence

It is the way of all things – they come and they go

You come and you go

It is the job of the bodhisattva

To help us cross the ocean

To give place to our suffering

And bring love and compassion to the world

Be your own bodhisattva

And bring love and compassion to the world