The wise ones of old had subtle wisdom
And depth of understanding,
So profound that they could not be understood.
Because they could not be understood,
I can only describe how they appeared in the world:
Cautious, like crossing a wintry stream,
Irresolute, like one fearing danger all around,
Ceremonious, as one who pays a visit;
Yielding, like ice beginning to melt,
Genuine, like a piece of uncarved wood,
Open-minded, like a valley,
And mixing freely, like murky water.
~ Lao-Tze
On the single road leading to this place
I saw a footprint in the moss.
The white clouds leaned on quiet banks,
The fragrant grasses closed your idle door.
I passed the rain-fed green of pines
And followed the hills to a mountain spring.
Streams and flowers spoke to me in meditation,
I replied, and cannot think of what I said.
~ Liu Chang-ch’ing
The voice of success and profit
May stir the minds of worldly people,
But not this place.
In the rounds of the day,
You wear threadbare clothing
And eat simple fare.
When the mountain snow deepens,
Your thoughts
Are far from those of people.
Occasionally,
Immortals pass your door
And knock.
~ Kuan-hsiu (832-912)
NO ONE DENIED ME LOVE
March 31
On the A.A. calendar it was Year Two. . . . A newcomer appeared at one of these groups. . . . He soon proved that his was a desperate case, and that above all he wanted to get well. . . . [He said], “Since I am the victim of another addiction even worse stigmatized than alcoholism, you may not want me among you.”
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, pp. 141-42
I came to you—a wife, mother, woman who had walked out on her husband, children, family. I was a drunk, a pill-head, a nothing. Yet no one denied me love, caring, a sense of belonging. Today, by God’s grace and the love of a good sponsor and a home group, I can say that—through you in Alcoholics Anonymous—I am a wife, a mother, a grandmother and a woman. Sober. Free of pills. Responsible.
Without a Higher Power I found in the Fellowship, my life would be meaningless. I am full of gratitude to be a member of good standing in Alcoholics Anonymous.
NEW DAY
God bless everyone
no exceptions
The Buddhas left their Sutras
Because people are hard to change
It’s not just a matter of saintly or stupid
Each and every heart throws up its barricade
Each piles up his own mountain of karma
How could they guess that what they clasp so close
Is sorrow
Unwilling to ponder, as day and night
They embrace the falsehood of the self.
~ Shih-tao
Amidst a thousand clouds and ten
Thousand streams there lives
One ex-scholar.
By day wandering these green mountains;
At night coming home to sleep
Beneath a cliff.
Suddenly spring and fall have
Already passed by,
And no dust has piled up to disturb
This stillness.
Such happiness!
What do I depend on?
Here it’s as tranquil as autumn river water.
~ Han-shan