Arrow to the Heart

The prayers for rain
made by those who have lost their minds
are very quickly answered with a shower so sweet,
perfectly directed, so perfectly measured;
sublime,
as to shame the feeble efforts of
the greatest weather-changing magician
of this or any other era.

I am so pleased to say that love
has blossomed
from flowers I thought impossible,
and I have been struck in space
by an arrow perfectly unaimed:
coemergent.

"Bend the bow
of practice without slack.
Attach the bowstring
of commitment that's not feigned.
Draw together the thumb and notch
of connections and aspiration.

"To shoot the arrow
is to shoot at every kingdom.
To hit
is to hit those with whom there's a karmic link.
To satisfy
is to satisfy their every wish,
So that your accomplishment
is to accomplish buddhahood in a lifetime."

--Jigme Lingpa,
Dancing Moon in the Water


[illustration above by the great Kevin Radthorne]

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