The Second Poem: Darshan

Nothing is rewarded, nothing is taken away.
Nothing given, and nothing received.
Nothing is gained, nothing is required.
Nothing broken, and nothing healed.
Nothing is dissolved, nothing is resolved.
Nothing heard, and nothing sung.
Nothing wasted, because nothing appears.
Nothing born, and nothing disappears.
Nothing blossoms, nothing evanesces.
Nothing endured, and nothing relieved.
Nothing ever lost, nothing ever is.
Nothing separated, non-union in the non-exist.
Unchanging. Distancing. Be.

It mirrors you, not your intrinsic being.
A reflected truth that is
the greatest lie.
A clear eye that sees, this apparent world, the water moon, the river snow,
sees nothing
but the inner imaginings of your mind,
the inner workings of your head,
the inner strivings.
Not the essence. Merely a vision.
The day eyes are removed, heart opens.

Internalisation. Realisation. Materialisation. Etherealisation.
No reflection. No shadows. No mirror. No flames.
No eloquence. No poetry. No words. No speech. No sounds.
No hurt. Nothing locked. No window. Nothing to see. No release. None retrieved.
No cacophony. No harmony.
No flourishing. No withering.
No waste land. No pure land.
No courage. No heart and no mind. Bones are
no more than bones.
No permanence. No disappearance.
No transience. No constancy.

Noiselessness. Statelessness. Formlessness. Truthlessness.
Fleeting.

The drunken morning eats away its languid afternoon into an apathetic dusk,
witnessing the unconcern of a dying night.
Not a thunderstorm but a snowflake
Not a symphony but a whispered sigh

Lie down on the ground, and let the fallen leaves cover you.
Let your arms drop. Let the rain fall.
Hush your eyes.

This quiet.
This unshining.


… The eye is on fire; forms are on fire; eye-consciousness is on fire; impressions received by the eye are on fire.

– Prince Gautama Siddharta, 563-483 B.C.

*For reference... Darśana was an inspiration behind this piece, something I have loved since the day I was introduced to the concept, but not immediately related to the content (of how this poem turned out to be). 

‎"Darshan is ultimately difficult to define since it is an event in consciousness ... which focuses and calls out the consciousness of the devotee ... a heightening of consciousness or spirituality is the intended effect."