Soulful Sadhak

How to Order Interbeing when disorder is what we're seeing? What theory or philosophy Will make us bond beyond entropy Turn matter into energy And bring unity through diversity? How to Order Interbeing What can be more deeply freeing Than to arrive with every step Into this Pure Land we create Carrying the jacket of our Bodhicitta Do we take the leap of faith? How to Order Interbeing and to become real human beings To not be lost in thoughts or feelings And find real purpose and meaning Non-selves coming into oneness One Action to True Emptiness How to Order Interbeing And to meet Love’s high demand In the midst of separation We come together to make a stand Build the beloved community Until injustice is forever banned How to Order Interbeing Let our activism be an organism Practice openness, no dogmatism We are the light that breaks inside the prism Liberating us from mental prison Reconnecting us with ancient wisdom How to Order Interbeing And as a species to evolve? For our igno...

When i am in service All my energies just flow When i am in service I don’t worry about tomorrow When i am in service I rise above the highs and lows When i serve, i am free I no longer need to be Better or worse Wrong or right I dedicate myself wholeheartedly I don’t compete or fight My mind is focused On just one thing I don’t get lost I am remembering What is most important In this mortal life To serve and help others Let go of struggle and strife When i am in service I come really alive There is only one thing For which i strive I just want all beings To be happy and thrive When i am in service I am reminded we are one There is no seperation And i've only just begun To see how our threads are spun Completely intertwined And the more i serve The more that i find There are no others No i just we Devoted to service It becomes plain to see There’s nothing in this world That is not me 

  A song for Palestine [repost from 2024] From the river to the sea Lord, someone hear our plea Sometimes it feels like we will drown The tides keep pulling us down We are awash in a flood of pain That keeps falling down like rain Is there no ship, to sail away Towards the dawn of a new day? From the river to the sea One day we will be free We will walk hand in hand Return to our motherland From the river to the sea Wallah, this land is holy When we’re made whole as one A new day will have begun For this river is made of tears shed over 76 years Flowing into a dead sea Can we stay afloat in this misery? Oh water, wash over these lands And wipe the bloodstains of our hands We’ll sleep peacefully in the lion’s den The olive tree will grow again From the river to the sea We still hold the key To break free from these chains We will rise again From the river to the sea Lord have mercy on me When love will reign There’ll be an end to all our pain From the river to the sea Wallah, liste...

 [Reposting this song from 2022. I'm reorganizing my blog] This is a song that came to me a while ago, and that i worked out while being bed-ridden after my accident. I wanted to write a song for Jeff Bezos, because he was (at the time) the richest man on the planet. I was thinking about Amazon and how, taken from a distance, Jeff Bezos has acquired near God-like powers: ability to go to space, hear all our wishes and to deliver almost anything any time. This made me wonder: What does life look like from his perspective? And what does that make us? And of course, some thoughts on consumerism and equality. I don't have any personal issues with Jeff Bezos, but yeah, if you're the richest man on the planet, you must bear with people writing songs about you i suppose!

[Reorganizing my blog and reposting this song i wrote in 2020. Will share all my music on this blog from now on]    If I was the president I would make this suffering end I would care about human lives Man would not mistreat their wives Every people would live free There would be democracy If I was the president I would make this madness end We’d all have enough to eat Nobody’d need to be on the street I would sow love not hate I would make my country great If I was the president I would try to understand How this ol’ world has gone so wrong Why can’t we all live as one The Hindu, Muslim and the Jew Brothers and sisters me and you If I was the president I’d save the dolphins and the elephants I would make the climate cool Children wouldn’t have to go to school People would no more eat meat All the chickens and cows would be freed But I can't be the man in chief They say I’m too young, I’m naive We gotta save the economy Protect our borders, erect a fence If I was the president...

Can my words put anything right? Can they help those who suffer in all their plight? Stop bombs and guns in the middle of a fight? And the powers that be with all of their might? Does it make any difference if i write? Or is my writing just academic? My questions only epistemic? Aesthetic text administered as anesthetic The old blind lady starts to look a bit pathetic She doesn’t stand a chance of stopping a polemic What if justice just was a dream of the past? Made up by poets whose time didn’t last Can blank verses transcend color and caste when the pain is so widespread and vast, like words from the book to uplift the downcast? What good does it do to be but criticizing? Do i add insult to injury with my philosophizing? Can a writer really be this surprising, a deus ex machina to create an uprising? Or is this simply too much fantasizing?   Is lady justice blind? Has 'justice' become an empty word? I keep witnessing the horror on the news, and sometimes i feel completely los...

Nowhere to run, Nowhere to hide Born into bondage, endlessly trapped inside Just a drop  in an ocean of woes Desperately looking for allies, as their fate draws close Their pains and cries are not televised Don't ask questions, you are advised And who will see them, who will bear witness? Is this a testimony  of evolutionary fitness? As the world keeps silence we carry on with the violence The butcher washes his hands in cold-blooded innocence Yet who is to blame for all this upheaval? Is it the mere banality of evil? When they cease to be an individual, ending a life becomes business as usual Reduced to numbers, their names not disclosed Taken by the machine, the bodies simply disposed The ubiquity of iniquity is desensitizing As we inflict moral injury it keeps traumatizing Driven by greed, suffering becomes epidemic Covered by ignorance, the injustice is systemic How to stop a faceless murder? Where do we go from here, is there a way further? How can we help those beyond ho...

  Poiesis* Where does the poetry come from, what is its stem? Where do words go when there's no one to say them? Who will read me when i am no longer there? Does anybody know, does anyone even care? What will come out, when there's nothing left inside? How can i speak to You when i have nothing more to hide? Can one name the structure of existence? How to write a declaration of interdependence? Is there an Intelligence that is more than artificial? That makes real sense, and not superficial? Is there a meaning to creation? Or is this a mere figment of my imagination?   * Classical Greek for 'creation', 'artistic creation', 'poem'  This little poem was inspired by Thich Nhat Hanh's teachings on Interbeing and Buddhist psychology.  

Please call me by my true names So I can see that my joy and pain are one - Thich Nhat Hanh    For a while i struggled with this thought: How can i practice mindfulness and meditation and find peace and happiness, while there is so much peace and injustice in the world? This poem came out of that contemplation. It is dedicated to my brother in the Dharma and activist friend Tom. When i breathe, let me breathe for Eric Garner and all those suffocating under discrimination and oppression And when i breathe, let me breathe for the officer who only knows how to react to challenge with violence When i walk, let me walk for the child in Gaza who can no longer walk home as he lost both his legs in a bomb explosion And when i walk, let me walk for the soldier who does not know  how to walk in peace but sees enemies everywhere When i eat let me eat for the mother in Darfur going hungry to save the last scraps of food for her starving children And when i eat let me eat for the mult...

This poem is inspired by Thich Nhat Hanh's story about  the warrior and the pine gate . Dear old pine gate Please let me come inside I have slayed all my demons and traveled far and wide I want to return home and sit by my master’s side Dear old warrior To enter through my door you must have a pure intention and stop running after more delusion, greed and hatred can pervert you at your core Oh petty pine gate Why don’t you open for me? So hard have i fought for all beings to be free Why do you hold me back from celebrating victory? Oh hard-headed warrior I cannot let you in Go sit by the river Did you really win? Take out your looking glass Do you see virtue or sin? Oh pitiless pine gate Am i at the gate of heaven or the gate of hell? I don’t know where I’m headed Please can you tell Was I really so glorious Or did my soul I sell? Oh weary warrior You have nothing left to hide Where else for you to go then to look deep inside Did you really slay your demons or was your demon pride?...

Here's a little song i wrote. I heard someone singing 'Sweet Home Alabama', and though the melody is catchy, i couldn't really resonate with the lyrics. My spiritual teacher taught me that our true home is the present moment, so i decided to change the lyrics. So this is my blues rock tribute to Thay and Plum Village. It was fun to try and combine the language of these two traditions. Here is how it goes, hope you like it.   Sweet Home Present Moment Melody: Sweet Home Alabama – Lynyrd Skynyrd I was feeling down and out in life Without a place to call my own Wanted to let go of my struggle and strife And find my way back home I heard about a teacher they called Thay Wanted to go and ask him how To find that pie up in the sky But he said: ‘It’s here and now’ CHORUS Sweet home present moment Where the skies are clear and true Sweet home present moment Oh, i'm coming home to you On i went to Plum Village for retreat To go and lay my burden down Time to rest my weary fe...

 This is a new song i wrote, inspired by Plum Village and the mystical poetry of old. In Plum Village, we have this saying: 'to be a drop in the Sangha (community) river' and to 'flow with the Sangha'. This led me to writing this song:       Lyrics   Into You i want to flow and of my self to let go To be one with the waves Any peril i can brave    I will stand through the storm Here i will die and be reborn Won’t you join hands with me as we dive into the sea        CHORUS Sea of love, take me Sea of love, wake me Sea of love   To be a drop in Your ocean Letting go of every notion Swaying only with Your motion Is the most profound emotion   To find the greatest love Far below is high above In these waters i will drown Deeper deeper i go down        CHORUS   To go beyond birth and death from my first to my last breath Sea you are my womb and sea you’ll be my tomb        CHORUS ...

Compassion grows as mindfulness slows A warm embrace brings a tear to my face A deep look, the words from the book As together we transform we bring calm into the storm We grow peace by peace to ease the raging seas See the new spring bud coming out after the flood Set free the white dove the answer remains love  

It’s great to be alive In 2025 Bombs keep falling taking children’s lives Keep hoping for peace through our struggle and our strife It’s great to be alive In 2025 It’s great to be alive In 2025 Did we elect leaders who won’t fool us and connive? Who is gonna take on Injustice that is rife? It’s great to be alive In 2025 It’s great to be alive In 2025 AI and algorithms what do they contrive? Who knows where we’re going with cars in self-drive? It’s great to be alive In 2025 It’s great to be alive In 2025 The richest in the world are making us deprived Will it be possible for equality to revive? It’s great to be alive In 2025 It’s great to be alive In 2025 A dictator’s regime takes a crash dive Let us keep on pushing for freedom to thrive It’s great to be alive In 2025 It’s great to be alive In 2025 What’s happening to our climate and wildlife It will be a great year if we all manage to survive It’s great to be alive In 2025 It’s great to be alive In 2025 May there be a way for us to arr...

 Here's a little song i wrote about oneness and non-duality. I am the sky, I am the wind I am its sweet soft whispering I am the Earth I am the moon This is her song this is her tune That has no beginning and no end I hope one day you understand All the answers are within That’s why I am singin’ CHORUS We are one, we are one We are one, we are one I am the light, I am the dark This is the calling of the lark In the dawn before we rise To see a new sun rise With all our joy and all our pain Nothing to lose nothing to gain So break free from these bars And sing with open hearts CHORUS Let us walk hand in hand And together we will stand We’re emotion, we are love A higher force from up above A new song in a new key To take these chains and set us free I am you and you are me Let us sing in harmony CHORUS A new day now will come Where we will all live as one This is the voice deep inside That no longer wants to hide So let’s stop to pretend I am your brother,* I am your fri...

  A Walk with God Last night i went for a walk with God And as He held my hand, we talked I asked: ‘Where do we go from here, what is the direction? When do we arrive and achieve perfection? He said: ‘There is nowhere to go, nothing to fear Everything you need is already here Look through my eyes and you will see I am in you and you are in Me Everything you touch is already Divine With every step you reach this Kingdom of mine’   And as we strolled a bit further down I could not help but for my face to frown: ‘Lord but there is, so much suffering and pain In this crazy old world, how can we stay sane?’ ‘The road is long and windy, and it’s easy to get lost If you want to reach your goal, there will be a cost There is hardship and struggle on the way But to find your destination, it is worth to pay The toll to reach the other shore Arrive in peace and suffer no more’   His answer made me stumble and wince I could not say I was fully convinced: ‘Where is...

A piece about my life in Sadhana Forest  and how living in a sustainable reforestation community contributes to my understand of Interbeing. Originally written for Wake Up . Adapted from an earlier post . Tree planting in Sadhana Forest The past four years, I have been living and volunteering in an eco-community in South India. We live very simply in thatched roof huts made from local, natural materials. Our community is off-grid and uses only electricity from our solar panels and the water we draw from our well. In our daily life, we practice reforestation, bringing back to life an almost extinct indigenous tropical forest on a 70-acre piece of land, returning water, trees, and life to a once-barren and deserted area. I have learned many practical things about community life and sustainable living practices, but the deepest teaching while living this life has been a very direct, lived experience of the reality of Interbeing. Living this close to nature and actively participat...

 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 majes...

 A Lovesong with a Twist Sometimes - not often - inspiration comes to me in the form of a pop/folk song. It is not the form of expression I am most familiar with (I am not the greatest singer or musician to say the least), but I like this form of expression nonetheless. I can communicate serious ideas, but at the same time, pop songs have this kind of lightheartedness to them that encourages me not to take myself to seriously. So my songs always have different levels to them. On one level I am sharing deep truths, but on the other hand I am also questioning myself and trying to put things into perspective. In this way I also want to encourage people to look beyond outward appearances, and to move beyond black and white thinking. So this particular song is inspired by my own life, I do feel attracted to other spiritual practitioners, because, for me, that is something that I want to share, nourish and deepen in the context of a relationship. Yet, on the other hand, those practitione...

Everything we have and hold dear will one day go away and disappear Don’t ask me if I love you you know in this moment I’ll always be true To the sun, the stars and the skies above and shower all living beings with love And every time I see my Beloved’s face I feel blessed with heavenly grace And ease into the flow of life let go of all my struggle and strife Live life like we were meant to be and in my heart, we will always be free No, this love was not meant to be caged but to be played out on a cosmic stage To quench the soul’s deepest desire and let it burn us like a funeral pyre And when we are wholly consumed by the flame we will at last return whence we came