Before Time Goes By

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Growing and play

Adventure each day

The joys of childhood

But time goes by

…

Education and training

Ignorance waning

The value of knowledge

But time goes by

…

Courtship and romance

Love’s heart-warming dance

 The beauty of youth

But time goes by

…

A family to raise

Hungry mouths that gaze

The duty of parenthood

But time goes by

…

Making a living

No time for giving

The demands of work

But time goes by

…

Beliefs to fight for

Ideas to deplore

The folly of the pious

But time goes by

…

Growing reputation

Seeking acclamation

The lure of power

But time goes by

…

Wealth amassing

Owning and outclassing

The pleasure of possessing

But time goes by

…

Winning on Sunday

Losing on Monday

The uncertainty of life

But time goes by

…

Pain and sickness

Loss of mental quickness

The loneliness of old age

But time goes by

…

Fear of dying

Lament and crying

The inevitability of death

But time goes by

…

Oh when will you sever

Your pointless endeavour

And relinquish your plans

Before time goes by

…

Oh when will you pacify

Your clinging to ‘I’

And embrace compassion

Before time goes by

…

Oh when will you console

Your restless soul

And know lasting peace

Before time goes by

…

Oh when will you heed

Your teacher’s plead

And enter the Way

Before time goes by

…

Oh when will you find

Your innermost mind

And dwell in emptiness

Before time goes by

…

Oh when will you be bestowed

Your rightful deathless abode

And return to home

Before time goes by

Ven Edo Shonin and Ven William Van Gordon

Prima che il tempo passa

Crescere e giocherellare

Le avventure giornaliere

Le gioie dell’infanzia

Ma il tempo passa

…

Educazione e allenamento

L’ignoranza in declino

Il valore della sapienza

Ma il tempo passa

…

Il corteggiamento e la passione

La danza di amore che scalda il cuore

 La bellezza della gioventù

Ma il tempo passa

…

Una famiglia da allevare

Bocche affamate che non fanno altro che guardare

Il dovere della paternità

Ma il tempo passa

…

La necessità di fare soldi

Non c’è tempo per essere generosi

Le esigenze del lavoro

Ma il tempo passa

…

Lottare per le cradenze morale

Idee da deplorare

La follia delle persone pie

Ma il tempo passa

…

Una crescente reputazione

Alla ricerca di acclamazione

Il richiamo di potere

Ma il tempo passa

…

Ammassare benessere

A padroneggiare e il desiderio di surclassare

Il piacere di possedere

Ma il tempo passa

…

Vincere la Domenica

Perdere il Lunedi

L’incertezza della vita

Ma il tempo passa

…

Il dolore e la malattia

Perdita della prontezza mentale

La solitudine della vecchiaia

Ma il tempo passa

…

La paura di morire

I lamenti e il piangere

L’inevitabilità della morte

Ma il tempo passa

…

Oh quando reciderete

Il vostro sforzo pleonastico

E rinunciare ai vostri piani

Prima che il tempo passa

…

Oh quando riuscirete a pacificare

il vostro attaccamento a un ‘sé’

E abbracciare la compassione

Prima che il tempo passa

…

Oh quando vi consolate

Il vostro anima inquieta

E conoscete una pace duratura

Prima che il tempo passa

…

Oh quando farete attenzione

all’appello del vostro insegnante

E intraprendere la Via Giusta

Prima che il tempo passa

…

Oh quando troverete

La vostra mente più profonda

E dimorate nel vuoto

Prima che il tempo passa

…

Oh quando si sarà elargito

La vostra dimora immortale legittimo

E tornate a casa

Prima che il tempo passa

…

Ven Edo Shonin and Ven William Van Gordon

 

 

A Monk’s Life

A Monk’s Life

Recently, a short poem I composed entitled The Offspring of Spring was accepted for publication in a forthcoming book called Candlelit Thoughts – A Collection of Poetry (published by Forward Poetry). The following poem has been adapted from The Offspring of Spring and is called A Monk’s Life. This four-verse poem follows a very simple format of five syllables per line and a rhyming couplet in each verse.

 

A Monk’s Life

Nurtured by nature
In the wild I dwell
A contented heart
But no one to tell

The heir of the air
I float on the clouds
Such freedom such bliss
No hustle no crowds

The son of the sun
Ablaze with pure light
Never ending joy
That brightens the night

The off-spring of spring
Alive and aware
Transmitting the law
Without fear or care

Ven. Edo Shonin

Further Reading

Shonin, E. (2014). The Offspring of Spring. In: Candlelit Thoughts – A Collection of Poetry. Peterborough: Forward Poetry.

The Ear-Whispered Mahavairocana Tantra

The following are some verses we have selected from the Ear-Whispered Mahavairochana Tantra.

I am Mahavairocana, the one Mind
All things arise as me
I am the entirety of space and time
Yet you will not find me there

If you take now and all that occurs as the path
Allowing perceived and perceiver to merge as one
Seeing my face in all that unfolds
Then you forever enter my deathless realm

When you realize that throughout all lifetimes
There has never once been any coming or going
Nothing has ever been accomplished, nothing left undone
You perfect the three kayas in a single instant

With pristine mirror-like cognizance
Relax into the awareness of your intrinsic wakefulness
All things are Mind-born, yet don’t search for that Mind
Noble one, you have been introduced!

Om Mahavairocana Hum

May these words of profound meaning,
ever be protected from corruption by evil or narrow minds.
May they help to point out the way to fortunate beings
(both present and future) of this degenerate age.
Atte [tatte] natte vanatte anade nadi kunadi [svaha]

Ven. Edo Shonin & Ven. William Van Gordon

A Close Truth

A Close Truth
Like the repose that follows,
When waking from a nightmare.

Like the reprieve of an isolated General,
Who recognizes the encroaching soldiers as his own troops

Like the relief that arises, when realizing that the snake,
Was, all along, just a piece of old rope.

Like the rapture of the despairing treasure hunter,
Who returns to find the riches buried beneath his own home.

Oh self who has enslaved me for so long,
Now I have shed the shackles of ignorance,
And entered the non-returning blissful abode.

Ven. Edo Shonin and Ven. William Van Gordon

The Off-spring of Spring

The Off-spring of Spring

Nurtured by nature
In the wild I dwell
A contented heart
But no one to tell

The heir of the air
I float on the clouds
Such freedom such bliss
No hustle no crowds

The son of the sun
Ablaze with pure light
Never ending joy
That brightens the night

The off-spring of spring
Alive and aware
Transmitting the law
Without fear or care

Ven Edo Shonin and Ven William Van Gordon

Hearken to the Dharma

Hearken to the Dharma

All you great teachers and meditators,
Who mistake self-grasping and pride for the two accumulations,
In whom true renunciation and devotion never arise,
You, pleasure seekers, hearken to the Dharma that keeps death in mind.

Proudly claiming to be great Buddhists,
Judging others as ‘right’ and ‘wrong’,
Spreading doubt and disparaging the Law Holders,
You, Dharma destroyers, hearken to the Dharma beyond all concepts.

Practicing sophistry you deceive the foolish,
Competing for renown like Mara princes,
Dragging your followers to the miserable realms,
You, evil doers, hearken to the Dharma of karmic cause and effect.

For View you delight in ‘self’ and ‘other’,
For Meditation you indulge in scheming thoughts,
For Action you mindlessly vomit through your three doors.
You, delusion revellers, hearken to the Dharma that knows Mind as all.

Ven. Edo Shonin and Ven. William Van Gordon

Simply Being with Nothing to Be

Nowhere to go, nothing to do
No reputation to build, none to defend
No possessions to amass, none to protect
This is fearlessness born of Apranihita

Simply here, simply now
Simply birth, simply death
Simply content, simply aware
Simply abiding, simply being

No space, no time,
So no here, no now.
No self, no other,
So no attachment, no aversion.

Letting go with nothing to let go of
Practice with no path to walk
Simply being with nothing to be
This is the all-pervading wisdom of Dharmadhatu.

Ven. Edo Shonin and Ven. William Van Gordon

The Binds of Ignorance

The Binds of Ignorance

The Buddhas who realize the illusory nature of all phenomena,
Have limitless compassion for even an insect.
Yet the ignorant beings believing all things to be ‘real’,
Slaughter, maim, and harm without a care in the world. How Amazing!

The Buddhas who abide in the deathless state,
Are ever aware of the preciousness of each moment.
Yet the ignorant beings believing this life to be all,
Mindlessly squander it in pointless pursuits. How Amazing!

The Buddhas who have breached the citadel of primordial wisdom,
Live simply and humbly wherever they dwell.
Yet the ignorant beings steeped in non-virtue and wrong views,
Forever boast of their worldly accomplishments. How Amazing!

The Buddhas who dwell in peace that transcends even Nirvana,
Need witness only a grain of pure faith to bestow their blessings.
Yet the ignorant beings eternally consumed by the fires of the Klesas,
Have corrupt intent and shun the Dharma. How Amazing!

Ven Edo Shonin & Ven William Van Gordon

A Buddha has Entered the World

A Buddha has Entered the World

Endowed with the Dharmakaya that is the ground of all existence,

The Sambogakaya that is pure and splendid to behold,

And the Nirmanakaya that serves the needs of all beings,

You are known by some as the simple monk Br. Edo.

–

A master of masters, the embodiment of all Buddhas,

Since primordial beginning and with unceasing activity,

Using your iron hook of compassion and skilful means,

You enter the Worlds and swiftly liberate the suffering beings.

–

We are two Dharma Warrior Kings,

Perfectly free in the realm of unchanging great bliss,

A safe island of refuge for exhausted seekers of the Way,

Yet hidden from the view of the faithless and cowardly.

–

Whilst we are beyond meeting and departing,

 Pray Mahakalyanamitra, swiftly lead this clumsy one to fruition,

For in the realm of non-action there is much to be done.

Come now, bestow upon me the blessings of your Wisdom Mind.

–

–

This song that spontaneously arose was written as a token

of heartfelt gratitude for the wish-granting kindness of the simple

monk Br. Edo. Through the merits of these words may all Samsaric

beings not only meet with the perfectly endowed Buddhas,

but may they also recognise having done so.

Ven. William Van Gordon