On the passing of my teacher

 A cloud never dies

Photo: Max Pugh

You are leaving, but every moment you are still arriving
in every step and every breath I take
Your eyes are closed, but I can see you more clearly now
in the clouds and in the water in my tea
You are no longer here, yet I see you everywhere
in the smile of a child and the blossoms of spring
Your voice is silent, if it weren’t for
the singing of birds and the rustling of leaves in the wind

There is no coming and no going
as you are leaving, you are only returning to us
The greater the distance between us,
the more we carry you in our hearts
You have left a void, which we can only
fill with the the practice you gave us
We feel an emptiness, but we know
we are only empty of a separate self

My sadness is beyond limits,
but so are the gratitude and love I feel today
A bottomless hole is gaping in my soul,
from which a wellspring of compassion rises
I am at a loss for words, my mind is blank
and yet understanding is born:
The boddhisattva stands majestically
upon the waves of birth and death

Your work here is done,
ours has only just begun
So has it been since beginningless time
so will it continue into the ages of ages
We are life without boundaries
As we transcend the final limitation
we know as sure as the clear blue sky:
We have never been born, and we will never die