...

Contemplative emptiness:
The moon suspended over the
Village at midnight.
Suddenly startled
By the howl of an ape
Who could know that it
Would arouse me beyond my senses,
And bring me an inner vision
From Mount Sumeru.

- Dokuryu (1671)

I'm a negligent man and my house is a mess
There's no place for guests and the kitchen is scary
There's decades of clutter and piles everywhere
Roaches leave silhouettes in the paint
Interpretations may vary, but in the morning
I usually go out for the air and the birds
At night there's the moon, and the stars if it's clear

He who is really happy is happy everywhere, in a palace or in a cottage, in riches or in poverty, for he has discovered the fountain of happiness which is situated in his own heart. As long as a person has not found that fountain, nothing will give him real happiness.

~ Hazrat Inayat Khan

-Removed-

Not many small huts in view,
Only three or four to be seen
Frosted trees dance in the sparse woods,
Showing sudden touches of color.
White clouds lie protectively
Over the closed brushwood gate;
The man out seeking the magic fungus
Has not yet returned.

- Toko Shin-etsu (1639-1696)

“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing
and rightdoing there is a field.
I'll meet you there.

When the soul lies down in that grass
the world is too full to talk about.”

― Rumi

Old friends,
We have sought out a place to meet;
Now we chat by the window until
The candles burn out.
Talking and laughing together,
Our faces are happy
And our hearts serene.
This friendship is as pure as water;
We jot down our poems
With strong brushwork.

- Monchu (1739-1829)

“Ships that pass in the night, and speak each other in passing, only a signal shown, and a distant voice in the darkness; so on the ocean of life, we pass and speak one another, only a look and a voice, then darkness again and a silence."

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

As long as you are subject
To a life bound by force of habit,
You are not free from the
Burden of the body.

- Kuei-Shan (771-854)

In the still night by the vacant window,
Wrapped in a monk’s robe,
I sit in meditation.
Navel and nostrils line up straight;
Ears paired to the slope of the shoulders.
Window whitens
The moon comes up;
Rain’s stopped,
But drops go on dripping.
Wonderful
The moon of this moment,
Distant, vast.

- Ryokan (1758–1831)

In the still of the night ...

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– Cole Porter (1891 – 1964)
– Ella Fitzgerald (1917 – 1996)