Marvelous to attend Buddhist courses, and listen to Teachings
But with a bigoted mind, it's just a collection of complex information delivered in unusual syntax.
Whatever you hear, you'll only have to hear it one more time and write it
down in note books you'll never look at again,
Better to go where ever you like and listen to anything you please with
Presence and an Open Heart
As if it were for the first time.Marvelous to go to Buddhist Centres, and participate in Tsog Feasts
But with a bigoted mind, it's just a way of passing time and eating too much starch and sugar;
Every time you go home, you only end up going back again, in case there's some bit of back-biting you can join in on,
Better to have Awareness and Kindness and share some wine with an old friend,
As if it were for the first time.Marvelous to practice prostrations
But with a bigoted mind, it's just a catalogue of repetitive movements;
Every time you get down, you only have to get up again.
Better to really 'get down', or work out in a gym, and do what ever you like with Kindness and Awareness
As if it were for the first time.Marvelous to chant sadhana and invoke the Awareness-Beings
But with a bigoted mind, you may as well recite the telephone directory,
Even if you occasionally 'call up a number' no one's going to want to talk to you.
Better to imitate the wind in the trees or sing the Blues with Awareness and Kindness,
As if it were for the first time.Marvelous to recite Awareness-spell and to fulfill commitments,
But with a bigoted mind, it's just an obsession with numbers that doesn't add up to much;
Every syllable you recite is just 'the one that comes after the one that comes before';
Better to have Awareness and Kindness and employ your tongue in cunning linguistics
As if it were for the first time.Marvelous to be vegetarian and to live in a gentle non-violent manner
But with a bigoted mind, the real meaning of the Teaching is slaughtered;
Every bowl of beans and tofu you eat spills the life-blood of real commitment.
Better to eat the parma ham and pepperoni pizza of Awareness and Kindness
As if it were for the first time.Marvelous to have a clear mind and to avoid inebriation
But with a bigoted mind, you become intoxicated with the poison of your own concepts
Whatever you abstain from, there'll always be something to be up-tight about.
Better to bathe your brain in the Barolo of Awareness and Kindness
As if it were for the first time.Marvelous to maintain the vinaya and to uphold the tradition of the Buddha,
But with a bigoted mind, you're more or less 'f-cked' anyway,
What ever it is you don't do with your body, has happened in your head anyway;
Better to have Spacious Passion in Passionate Space and be complete in
Awareness and Kindness,
As if it were for the first time.Marvelous to go to the Shrine room, and to Sit Silently,
But with a bigoted mind, it's just biding time before sharing gossip in the tea break,
Every rumour you hear is just another one to pass on.
Better to say whatever comes into your head' or make people laugh with Awareness and Kindness
As if it were for the first time.Marvelous to acquire great knowledge of the Teaching and Practice,
But with a bigoted mind, it's just interminable information that congests your brain
For every category you know, there'll just be another subdivision to learn about.
Better to have Awareness and Kindness and see what's in front of your nose
As if for the first time.Marvelous to take Empowerment for practices of Transformation,
But with a bigoted mind, it's just a way of disguising your neediness,
frustration and boredom with the camouflage of oriental ritual;
Every technique you learn just gives you the opportunity to break another commitment,
Better to Sit Silently without pretensions and to live spontaneously with Awareness and Kindness,
As if it were for the first time.Marvelous to receive Transmissions into Self-Liberation
But with a bigoted mind, it's just the ultimate glamourisation of conceit and self-deceit,
It does no good to sit in the dark with a mind and a mouth like a goddamn shark,
Better to own your violence as a 'hit man', or try to be a regular person and live with Awareness and Kindness
As if it were for the first time.Marvelous to spend time in the presence of the Lama
But with a bigoted mind it's only an opportunity to extract endless technical information;
Every detail you're given only makes you hungry for another version of the same thing.
Better to have Awareness and Kindness and to talk about your real condition
As if it were for the first time.Marvelous to visit with Buddhist friends and to share what you know,
But with a bigoted mind, it's just an excuse to slander other disciples and their Lamas.
Every sectarian view you express only leaves room for another one to fill its place.
Better to sit at home on your own toilet, and cultivate Awareness and Kindness
As if it were for the first time.
(5/3/1993)