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Thursday, 12 April 2012

Catching the Flower



The flower wants
to be seen
for a while


Because the flower
knows
she will die. 


I wrote these lines while sitting with Thay Thich Nhat Hanh, and wishing for his eyes to fall on me, and acknowledge my presence. All things are impermanent but occasionally, when a dream is coming true, you want it to be perfect. And it was - twice I sat in the front row during the dharma talks, and Thay, who speaks softly, asked us to come closer, sit closer. We obliged with great alacrity! I could not believe my good fortune. Right beneath the Zen Master's feet! If he had thrown the flower, I would have caught it. Except he wouldn't throw a flower.

I am home now, and everything looks even more beautiful, more vividly clear, after six days of mindfulness energy harnessed by nearly 900 Buddhas-to-be. The young monastics, who are all charming and savvy, joked that they have no Indian nuns as yet. There is a space available for me... What do you think? I wonder what sort of nun I would make. Hopeless, probably. I'd be like Maria in The Sound of Music - always on her knees in confession for something or other!


She climbs a tree
And scrapes a knee
her dress has got a tear;
She waltzes on her way to Mass
and whistles on the stair;
And underneath her wimpole
she has curlers in her hair -

I've even heard her singing in the Abbey!
How do you solve a problem like Shaista-a-a??
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11 comments:

  1. Yin12 April 2012 at 01:19

    And why not? :) Welcome back!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Shaista12 April 2012 at 02:13

    Why not sing in the abbey or why not become a nun? :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Cloudia12 April 2012 at 02:50

    Honey, the monastery is in your dear heart. Thank you for taking the time to retreat, and for bringing us the energy of it in this sweet post.

    Namaste with Warm Aloha from Honolulu
    Comfort Spiral

    ><}}(°>

    ReplyDelete
  4. Mary Helen-Art Saves Lives12 April 2012 at 04:10

    I am sending you blessings. mary Helen Fernandez Stewart

    ReplyDelete
  5. Marcoantonio Arellano (Nene)12 April 2012 at 11:00

    Sometimes I like to sing in the shower, sometimes in the kitchen, sometimes on my patio to see how the hummingbirds react but I have the choice at any given moment of where I wish to sing and when. 8-D

    ReplyDelete
  6. Marcoantonio Arellano (Nene)12 April 2012 at 11:01

    and what!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Ruth12 April 2012 at 11:02

    I can see you in that contemplative life, because you are in it in your mind and heart. But I can imagine it being a glory to live this way. I'm so happy you had the experience all those days.

    ReplyDelete
  8. mermaid gallery12 April 2012 at 14:35

    singing, dancing, in your heart ....lovely words of freedom AND mindfulness....no nunnery needed....

    ReplyDelete
  9. Richard12 April 2012 at 15:46

    On my way to work this morning, riding on a narrow sidewalk,
    I had to stop, and get off the bike,
    while a three-year-old princess in a pretty dress and wearing golden braids and ignoring her nervous Mom,
    looked me in the eye,
    and took her time getting out of the car.

    She wanted to be seen
    for a while.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Sherry Blue Sky12 April 2012 at 16:19

    What a lovely post, and photo of Thay. Lovely, Shaista. Love that poem about the flower. Sigh. Glorious.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous20 April 2012 at 06:21

    Thich Nhat Hanh, my favourite.. how did I reach your page.. destiny...and I am happy to be here.. so much energy...loved the way you express and write.. In India a flower named Brahmkamal..blooms only for a few moments.. I remember writing...

    Does matter
    even if for few minutes
    It was happy to have
    bloomed like a flower..
    wish I could learn
    to live like a humanbeing
    at least for some days..

    hope you like it.. will be an ardent follower from now on..in spite of what goes around, let us continue to practice happiness..

    RS:)

    ReplyDelete