Be Nice ...

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Sudane Erato
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Re: Be Nice ...

Post by Sudane Erato »

Widget Whiteberry wrote:

He Tells Her

He tells her that the Earth is flat,
He knows the facts, and that is that.

In altercations fierce and long
She tries her best to prove him wrong.

But he has learned to argue well,
He calls her arguments unsound
And often asks her not to yell.
She cannot win. He stands his ground.

The planet goes on being round.

- Wendy Cope

/me likes... :)

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Guillaume Mistwalker
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Re: Be Nice ...

Post by Guillaume Mistwalker »

Excerpts from the 37 Practices of Bodhisattvas from Geshe Sonam Rinchen:

(1) Having gained this rare ship of freedom and fortune,
Hear, think, and meditate unwaveringly night and day
In order to free yourself and others
From the ocean of cyclic existence —
This is the practice of Bodhisattvas.

(8) The Subduer said all the unbearable suffering
Of bad rebirths is the fruit of wrong-doing.
Therefore, even at the cost of your own life,
Never do wrong —
This is the practice of Bodhisattvas.

(10) When your mothers, who've loved you since time without beginning,
Are suffering, what use is your own happiness?
Therefore to free limitless living beings
Develop the altruistic intention —
This is the practice of Bodhisattvas.

(14) Even if someone broadcasts all kinds of unpleasant remarks
About you throughout the three thousand worlds,
In return, with a loving mind,
Speak of his good qualities —
This is the practice of Bodhisattvas.

(15) Though someone may deride and speak bad words
About you in a public gathering,
Looking on him as a spiritual teacher,
Bow to him with respect —
This is the practice of Bodhisattvas.

(20) While the enemy of your own anger is unsubdued,
Though you conquer external foes, they will only increase.
Therefore with the militia of love and compassion
Subdue your own mind —
This is the practice of Bodhisattvas.

(26) Without ethics, you can't accomplish your own well-being,
So wanting to accomplish others' is laughable.
Therefore, without worldly aspirations,
Safeguard your ethical discipline —
This is the practice of Bodhisattvas.

(29) Understanding that disturbing emotions are destroyed
By special insight with calm abiding,
Cultivate concentration which surpasses
The four formless absorptions —
This is the practice of Bodhisattvas.

(31) If you don't examine your own errors,
You may look like a practitioner but not act as one.
Therefore, always examining your own errors,
Rid yourself of them —
This is the practice of Bodhisattvas.

(32) If through the influence of disturbing emotions
You point out the faults of another Bodhisattva,
You yourself are diminished, so don't mention the faults
Of those who have entered the Great Vehicle —
This is the practice of Bodhisattvas.

(34) Harsh words disturb the minds of others
And cause deterioration in a Bodhisattva's conduct.
Therefore, give up harsh words
Which are unpleasant to others —
This is the practice of Bodhisattvas.

(35) Habitual disturbing emotions are hard to stop through counteractions.
Armed with antidotes, the guards of mindfulness and mental alertness
Destroy disturbing emotions like attachment
At once, as soon as they arise —
This is the practice of Bodhisattvas.

(36) In brief, whatever you are doing,
Ask yourself, "What's the state of my mind?"
With constant mindfulness and mental alertness
Accomplish others' good —
This is the practice of Bodhisattvas.

(37) To remove the suffering of limitless beings,
Understanding the purity of the three spheres,
Dedicate the virtue from making such effort
To enlightenment —
This is the practice of Bodhisattvas.

(Conclusion & Dedication) For all who want to train on the Bodhisattva path, I have written The Thirty-Seven Practices of Bodhisattvas, Following what has been said by the excellent ones On the meaning of the sutras, tantras, and treatises.
Though not poetically pleasing to scholars Owing to my poor intelligence and lack of learning, I've relied on the sutras and the words of the excellent, So I think these Bodhisattva practices are without error.
However, as the great deeds of Bodhisattvas Are hard to fathom for one of my poor intelligence, I bid the excellent to forgive all faults, Such as contradictions and non sequiturs.
Through the virtue from this may all living beings Gain the ultimate and conventional altruistic intention And thereby become like the Protector Chenrezig Who dwells in neither extreme--not in the world nor in peace (nirvana).
This was written for his own and others' benefit by the monk Togmay, an exponent of scripture and reasoning, in a cave in Ngülchu Rinchen.

"May any merit that results from this work act as a cause of the Buddha's teach to remain a living source of spiritual nourishment and for those who embody, hold, and transmit it to enjoy long and fruitful lives." — Ruth Sonam
May all sentient beings be free of suffering! É MA HO!

Gaius Nebuliens Curio (Guillaume Mistwalker)
si enim pecunias aequari non placet, si ingenia omnium paria esse non possunt, iura certe paria debent esse eorum inter se, qui sunt cives in eadem re publica. (Cic. De Rep. 1.32.49)
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Pip Torok
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Re: Be Nice ...

Post by Pip Torok »

.
.
THE SEASONS
----------------
Thomas Holcroft
1745-1809
(from "The noble peasant": a comic opera, in three acts; as performed at the Theatre-Royal, in the Haymarket.
[original spelling retained]

WINTER. I.

Ere the beard of thistle sails;
Ere the tadpoles wag their tales
When the maids with milking-pails
Doff their mits and blow their nails;
When the cottage chimney smokes,
And waggish letchers crack their jokes
By the glowing ember's light,
And fright the girls, with tale of Sprite,

Then will we, o'er ale and cakes,
Brag of feats at Autumn wakes.

SPRING. II.

When the swallows twittering sing
Of the lovely birth of Spring;
When Bridegrooms make our three bells ring,
Ding dong ding — ding dong ding;
When the Valley's face is seen
Veil'd in many a shade of green;
When girls of husbands nightly dream,
And jolly swains get clouted cream;

Then we, upon sweet primrose beds,
Will rant our glees and rest our heads.

SUMMER. III.

When the young frog sears the rook;
When the kine stand in the brook;
When sleepy louts lose many a crook,
And codlings drop when trees are shook;
When salt mushrooms nightly spring,
And martins dip the dappled wing;
When the sun with strait-down beam
Lathers well the lusty team;

Then beneath new hay-ricks we
Will sing with might and merry glee.

AUTUMN. IV.

When the sickle and the scythe
Make the ruddy Farmer blythe;
When Hodge the bulky sheaf doth writhe,
And the fat Vicar claims his tythe;
When Autumn yields her golden store,
Till well-fill'd barns can hold no more;
When ripe fruits press the plenteous board,
And old wives cull their wintry hoard;

Then will we, when labour's o'er,
At harvest-home our catches roar.

--oOo--

writhe : bind

Hoping that 2014 brings joy to all readers ...

Pip Torok

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Pip Torok
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Re: Be Nice ...

Post by Pip Torok »

.
.
FOUR FROM LIVERPOOL ....

one of four : ...
.
.
WHAT MY LADY DID
-----------------------
Roger McGough, Liverpool poet
1937-

I asked my lady what she did
..She gave me a silver flute and smiled.
A musician I guessed, yes that would explain
..Her temperament so wild.

I asked my lady what she did
..She gave me a comb inlaid with pearl.
A hairdresser I guessed, yes that would explain
..Each soft and billowy curl.

I asked my lady what she did
..She gave me a skein of wool and left.
A weaver I guessed, yes that would explain
..Her fingers long and deft.

I asked my lady what she did
..She gave me a slipper trimmed with lace.
A dancer I guessed, yes that would explain
..Her suppleness and grace.

I asked my lady what she did
..She gave me a painting not yet dry.
A painter I guessed, yes that would explain
..The steadiness of her eye.

I asked my lady what she did
..She gave me a fountain pen of gold.
A poet I guessed, yes that would explain
..The strange stories that she told.

I asked my lady what she did
..She told me -- and oh, the grief!
I should have guessed, she's under arrest
..My lady was a thief!

--oOo--
.
.
two of four : ...
.
.
HESITANT
-----------
Brian Patten, Liverpool poet

He sees beyond her face another face.
It is the one he wants.
He stares at it in amazement;
There is nothing anywhere quite like it.
There is nothing else that's wanted.

She sees beyond his face another face.
It stares back at her in amazement.
She stares back, equally amazed.
Just why, she can't quite answer.
She simply wants it.

These faces have been waiting now
A long time to be introduced.
If only the faces in front of the faces
Would do something about it.

--oOo--
.
.
three of four : ...
.
.
ANY PRINCE TO ANY PRINCESS
------------------------------------
Adrian Henri, Liverpool Poet
1932-2000
('from the Loveless Motel', 1980)

August is coming
and the goose, I'm afraid,
is getting fat.
There have been
no golden eggs for some months now.
Straw has fallen well below market price
despite my frantic spinning
and the sedge is,
as you rightly point out,
withered.

I can't imagine how the pea
got under your mattress. I apologise
humbly. The chambermaid has, of course,
been sacked. As has the frog footman.
I understand that, during my recent fact-finding tour of the Golden River,
despite your nightly unavailing efforts,
he remained obstinately
froggish.

I hope that the Three Wishes granted by the
General Assembly
will go some way towards redressing
this unfortunate recent sequence of events.
The fall in output from the shoe factory, for example:
No-one could have foreseen the work-to-rule
by the National Union of Elves. Not to mention the fact
That the court has been fast asleep
For the last six and a half years.
The matter of the poisoned apple has been taken up
by the Board of Trade: I think I can assure you
the incident will not be
repeated.

I can quite understand, in the cirumstances,
your reluctance to let down
your golden tresses. However
I feel I must point out
that the weather isn't getting any better
and I already have a nasty chill
from waiting at the base
of the White Tower. You must see
the absurdity of the situation.
Some of the courtiers are beginning to talk,
not to mention the humble villagers.
It's been three weeks now, and not even
a word.

Princess,
a cold, black wind
howls through our empty palace.
dead leaves litter the bedchamber;
the mirror on the wall hasn't said a thing
since you left. I can only ask,
bearing all this in mind,
that you think again,

let down your hair,

reconsider. .

--oOo--
.
.
four of four : ...
.
.
THE WAY THINGS ARE
--------------------------
Roger McGough, Liverpool Poet
1937-

No, the candle is not crying, it cannot feel pain.
Even telescopes, like the rest of us, grow bored.
Bubblegum will not make the hair soft and shiny.
The duller the imagination, the faster the car,
I am your father and this is the way things are.

When the sky is looking the other way,
do not enter the forest. No, the wind
is not caused by the rushing of clouds.
An excuse is as good a reason as any.
A lighthouse, launched, will not go far,
I am your father and this is the way things are.

No, old people do not walk slowly
because they have plenty of time.
Gardening books when buried will not flower.
Though lightly worn, a crown may leave a scar,
I am your father and this is the way things are.

No, the red woolly hat has not been
put on the railing to keep it warm.
When one glove is missing, both are lost.
Today's craft fair is tomorrow's car boot sale.
The guitarist gently weeps, not the guitar,
I am your father and this is the way things are.

Pebbles work best without batteries.
The deckchair will fail as a unit of currency.
Even though your shadow is shortening
it does not mean you are growing smaller.
Moonbeams, sadly, will not survive in a jar,
I am your father and this is the way things are.

For centuries the bullet remained quietly confident
that the gun would be invented.
A drowning surrealist will not appreciate
the concrete lifebelt.
No guarantee my last goodbye is au revoir,
I am your father and this is the way things are.

Do not become a prison-officer unless you know
what you are letting someone else in for.
The thrill of being a shower curtain will soon pall.
No trusting hand awaits the falling star,
I am your father, and I am sorry,
but this is the way things are.

--oOo--
.
.

PS. Four from Liverpool, did I say? I should have said "Four poems from the Liverpool Poets"! :P

Pip Torok

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Pip Torok
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Re: Be Nice ...

Post by Pip Torok »

TANTRUM
------------
C.F.Williams

A child’s cry out in the street, not of pain or fear,
rather one of those vividly inarticulate
yet perfectly expressive trumpet thumps of indignation:
something wished for has been denied,
something wanted now delayed.

So useful it would be to carry that preemptive howl
always with you; all the functions it performs,
its equivalents in words are so unwieldy,
take up so much emotive time,
entail such muffling, qualifying, attenuation.

And in our cries out to the cosmos, our exasperation
with imperfection, our theodicies, betrayed ideals:
to keep that rocky core of rage within one’s rage
with which to blame, confront, accuse, bewail
all that needs retaliation for our absurdly thwarted wants.

--0O0--

It seems that more than one man seeking renewal of High Office
is now paying the Wages of Indulging in Tantrums ….

Pip Torok

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Emilia Avindar
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Re: Be Nice ...

Post by Emilia Avindar »

Pip, I'm so happy to see you back with a Poetry Slam! I'm on the second pot of tea, and taking my time catching up. 8)

Chancellor, 32nd Term, December 2019 - May 2020.
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