Why have you gotten up and left
leaving your chair by my side?
Will you not come back to sit with me?
Of course I know
you cannot return. 
Your last word
Goodbye. 
Then you were gone.

Your chair is empty still.
Often, in the night or on waking,
I sense someone is with me.
There is no one.
All told me to wait
but I did not wait long
I did not know how to do it well
to grieve and to let you go.

I am a spiritual being
in me all around me spirit
beings grasses birds all
not a thing that is not
star cloud universe
all with me creating
our exquisite masterpiece
I can explain none of it
no book sutra commentary
although they try can explain
this body mind I am
led astray in theory abstraction
zen words stories patriarchs
none know this
can explain this
that I am.

Rain filled windswept days

searching the window

watching the windblown world.

I would know the secret gaze

of a dear companion

in chairs across the table

on the porch watching birds.

Are words needed?

Well, one or two would do,

I’m here I’ll not be leaving soon.

Life is zen and something more

life before zen

one to remain beyond zen.

Buddha, dharma, sangha

yes, these, yet

something beyond these – ineffable –

who I am but where I cannot go

as a drop of world

in a sea of unbounded stars.

Shutting down social media comes at a cost

facebook gone with it the last remnants

of kids I grew up with my classmates

old now those of us who remain

memories may not die

they cannot be let go of so easily.

If I say I am Buddhist I wrench myself further down into the entangling weeds and vines of who I am not. I must wrench myself up and out before I am lost, dragged down by the weight of karma – the deceptions and distortions given to me, accepted by me, held onto tightly by me.

How might I be free as the maple out my widow, the cloud floating by, the raindrop falling, the blade of grass growing? Only by letting it all go, all that I’ve thought myself to be to now know I am not that. American, Democrat, Priest, Poet? I am not that.

Only a while ago I accepted that my name would be Korin instead of Tom. It was strangely an easy enough thing to do. Why? Because I am not Tom nor am I Korin. If that change was easy how much easier to let go of all of the other names I carry around as weights that pull me further down among the ensnaring weeds and vines?

Who I am cannot be named. Call me what you will. I am not that.

My hermitage today is snowfall

nowhere to go no obligations to keep

no roads diverging into woods dark and deep

a fortunate man am I with leisure

to write a few lines while watching snowfall

branches drooping and dripping.

My hermitage cannot be found on any map

it lies under a soft and still blanket of snow

nor can it be confined

I come and go as I please.

Letting go of my car was easy

my television too

sell them give them away

difficult still is letting go

surrendering to the way of things

to the ways of others

old stories deep buried prejudices

defended prideful positions

it is my vow after all

to enter the boundless gates.

old Chinese hermits lived close

caves thatch huts mountain sides

writing poetry

trees rocks clouds ponds

these I have but no pond

only a bird bath on my veranda

moon I have their very own

our lives on earth our time

the moon our dear companion.

"To get to the end the very end
let it all go let it go."
 (Stonehouse - Shih-wu)

This is where I begin. Let it all go. This summarizes for me what I imagine Zen life to be – letting it all go. I certainly have not done that and maybe/probably never will. What I have done in this regard is substantial but I still live a very comfortable life. What I understand about Zen and the concept of “letting it all go” is further summarized in the idea of “living simply.”

What I have done is ditch my car and my television. I have divorced myself from the world in that I do not read or listen to news from any source, whatsoever. I catch glimpses of local, national, and world news events as I scroll by them as quickly as possible when opening up sites, such as this one. Letting all that inside my home and my mind is just like polluting and desecrating a sacred place. My home and my mind are sacred places. I will, to the best of my ability, not allow such toxic pollution. I highly recommend this to anyone who wishes to reclaim their peace of mind. So far, no one among people I know, have followed my lead. Still, I love and respect them. However, when I have people over into my small place I let them know that discussion of politics, local, national, or world events are not welcome here. I consider my place a sanctuary and all of the toxic garbage stays out.