Coda
For a moment the sun shone while the rain fell.
In that fleeting moment, opposite elements combined,
an amazing spectacle ensued.
The sun and the rain momentarily ceased their timeless battle
to join hands in friendship,
and the universe sang,
yielding hymns to their peace.
The world was at peace.
The elements were at peace.
My mind and heart were at peace.
I was at peace.
My mind is like the sun, my heart like the clouds.
Moment by moment
my heart casts shadows upon the ground of my Self,
while my mind seeks its limelight
where the clouds will allow.
The two dance together,
their dance a war declared so long ago
neither remembers what started their enmity.
Between the two, there never is peace.
Between the two, I am driven to bliss so profound
my being fills every corner of the cosmos with its joy.
Between the two, I am hammered into the ground,
instantaneously being ground into dust.
Between the two,
I am not,
for I am neither one
nor the other.
Without the clouds, my soil would be parched
by the continuous kiss of my mind.
No fertile ground could ever be found.
No grass would grow,
no fields would bear fruit.
My mind would scorch the life from me,
my being would wither
into the stillness of death.
Without the sun, my world would be naught
but a tumultuous sea.
There would be no place for weary travellers
to pitch up their tents,
no ground at all would ever be found.
I would be adrift,
alone,
infertile.
I would forever wander,
with no place within to call home.
For a moment the sun shone while the rain fell.
The moment was fleeting,
and as the rain receded into the horizon,
it left its kiss
upon the lips of the sun.
Everything was cleansed by this momentary peace,
everything gleamed with its own innate perfection.
The truce left its impression upon both,
and the sun realized that its enemy
was in fact its lover,
its counselor,
and its best friend.
When the moment was gone,
the dance continued.
In that fleeting moment, opposite elements combined,
an amazing spectacle ensued.
The sun and the rain momentarily ceased their timeless battle
to join hands in friendship,
and the universe sang,
yielding hymns to their peace.
The world was at peace.
The elements were at peace.
My mind and heart were at peace.
I was at peace.
My mind is like the sun, my heart like the clouds.
Moment by moment
my heart casts shadows upon the ground of my Self,
while my mind seeks its limelight
where the clouds will allow.
The two dance together,
their dance a war declared so long ago
neither remembers what started their enmity.
Between the two, there never is peace.
Between the two, I am driven to bliss so profound
my being fills every corner of the cosmos with its joy.
Between the two, I am hammered into the ground,
instantaneously being ground into dust.
Between the two,
I am not,
for I am neither one
nor the other.
Without the clouds, my soil would be parched
by the continuous kiss of my mind.
No fertile ground could ever be found.
No grass would grow,
no fields would bear fruit.
My mind would scorch the life from me,
my being would wither
into the stillness of death.
Without the sun, my world would be naught
but a tumultuous sea.
There would be no place for weary travellers
to pitch up their tents,
no ground at all would ever be found.
I would be adrift,
alone,
infertile.
I would forever wander,
with no place within to call home.
For a moment the sun shone while the rain fell.
The moment was fleeting,
and as the rain receded into the horizon,
it left its kiss
upon the lips of the sun.
Everything was cleansed by this momentary peace,
everything gleamed with its own innate perfection.
The truce left its impression upon both,
and the sun realized that its enemy
was in fact its lover,
its counselor,
and its best friend.
When the moment was gone,
the dance continued.