Not Separate for Even a Moment

Elizabeth G. from Halifax, Nova Scotia sends this poem:

HHK 17th visit

Driving over the bridge from Halifax to Dartmouth
I saw an astonishingly large, perfect half-rainbow,
long-lasting,
a reminder of you, the Karmapa,
922 years old

Ongoing ripples,
reverberations and
tears at seeing you,
not separate from the 16th Karmapa
different yet familiar, like an old family recipe
fired in a modern oven

We are all in the same boat;
at times, the only ship is hardship.
You said that even the Karmapa experienced hardship,
what matters is how we meet it,
with hope and a strong heart

Not separate for even a moment,
beyond meeting and parting
always connected
This inseparability can be nothing
but good,
This inseparability can do nothing
but good.
Just what the Medicine Buddha ordered


June 21, 2008