Thoughts on Attending a Dharma Lecture by Tenshin Roshi
Incense smoke floats up
around the impassive faces of Buddhas
made of stone and wood.
The famous teacher sits in lotus position.
Head shaved bare, body encased in pale robe.
He sips tea from a glazed bowl.
In a small meditation hall near the base of Mount Tamalpais
with eighty or more people.
Pilgrims, searchers, and the just plain curious.
I don’t know
which group I belong in,
so I take a seat in a far corner of the room.
We wait for his words,
the teachings from a lifetime of spiritual effort.
We wait for the answers.
“It might be time for a song” he says.
I expect chanting, maybe with brass temple bells.
He sings an old standard, “What a Wonderful World”.
“I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.
I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.”
At first, it’s embarrassing.
Doesn’t he know he looks foolish?
Does he really think we came for pop song wisdom?
Then, I feel angry. Is he making fun of us?
Or is he just trying to be cool?
“Look how surprising I can be for you.”
But then I begin to see. Truth is constant,
whether meditating or praying,
...or even singing in the style of Bodhisattva Louis Armstrong.
“The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do
They're really saying I love you.
I hear babies crying, I watch them grow
They'll learn much more than I'll never know
And I think to myself what a wonderful world
Yes I think to myself what a wonderful world”.
When he finishes we all sit silently… us, him, every one together.
And of course, you can’t help it.
You think to yourself…“what a wonderful world.”
-Papa T
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