Tags
2019, 7*, Arya Lalitavistara, Bodhisattva, Buddha, calm, dark, demon, earth, echo, elephant, food, ground, happiness, light, lion, lotus, mindfulness, mountain, omniscient, past life, path, plateau, power, river, samsara, spontaneity, stars, step, three poisons, Tree of Awakening, view, walking, wheel
so he bathed in the Nairañjanā,
he ate the food, his strength
returned, and he began the walk
toward the Great Tree; he walked
with easy gait, grounded
as a mountain, each step gained
and graceful with no fight, dream
or idea; the placement pad of a lion,
the calliper-swing of an elephant,
a stride that touched not the earth
but left perfect wheels
upon the ground, a step that echoed
across the plateau, a step that
levelled mountain paths, each step
that lead to happy lands,
each step sprung from past lotuses
of love and stable intention,
that rendered demons powerless
that calmed all view, that evanesced
the darkness and stopped the
endless endless rounds; his
walk outshone the distant stars,
his walk becalmed the rulers;
the walk spontaneous, the walk
omniscient, the walk mindful
of every ancient step, with such a gait
the Bodhisattva set out
for the Seat of Awakening
from the Arya Lalita Vistara Nama Mahayana Sutra – the life story of the Buddha – originally using the words from the translation by the Dharmachakra Translation 84000 Committee which is freely available online here (for which thank you, thank you) and then other words once my gaze had settled into the image; the ‘Nairañjanā’ is the river by which the Buddha practised his austerities, the ‘food’ was that given to him by Sujata
————w(O)rmholes________________________________|—–
Buddha wormhole: Sujātā
echo wormhole: so, how long is, a piece of string?
light wormhole: The Boats of Vallisneria by Michael J. Redford – Sky
path wormhole: alabaster balustrade
power wormhole: in turgid reflection
river wormhole: Great Bridge, Rouen, 1896
stars wormhole: 11/1 by William Carlos Williams
walking wormhole: Valentine’s Day 2019
mlewisredford 