Suburban Life

Suburban life

we enjoy

I say my prayers

friends say Hi

flowers bloom

meals are simple

Buddha is pleased

I walk

visit friends

by the pond

then back

to 502

I go to meet Eddie one last time

then to the Tibet Center on Bowery and Houston

My father visits New Jersey

and Sandra meditates

In Chinatown Alexander is feted

all celebrate his 69th

then home

where life is steady

under Rinpoche’s gaze

Taiwan to the Oranges

Oolong in Taiwan

and a walk in the fields

then an exhibition hosted by the Wu sisters

at their Letterpress Teahouse

I meet my namesake, Nicholas

who learns to fly

at a jolly Sun-Moon Lake retreat

Life moves steadily in Taiwan

Now back in New Jersey

where we prepare to welcome Ling Rinpoche

who visits our Tibet Center, Kunkhyab Thardo Ling, Land Pervaded by Seekers of Liberation

Rinpoche’s predecessor named us

now Rinpoche guides us

The blossoms bloom

and Rinpoche departs

I travel to the City

to visit Jimmy who mourns dear Ling

Patrick has returned to help his father

At home the blossoms fall

and leaves appear

Then to Long Island

Louse Point

where all is still

very still

Pam insists I see the beach

before attending Sheila Isham’s memorial

Beckers unite to celebrate her life

And then some time with my friend John

who toils away at his extraordinary endeavor

buttressed by love

I return home

and prepare to discuss secular ethics

The trees are dancing

On the Road

A journey to Vrindavan where Lord Krishna spent his childhood

Prabhupada worshiped him under the Krishna Tree in NYC

I then visit Rikhiapeeth for the centennial celebration of Swami Satyananda who suggested calling emptiness God

then on to Rajgir where emptiness was explained

All is empty, all depends on other, emptiness makes all possible… is it not the creator?

On to Nalanda, the seat of Buddhist scholarship

many attained enlightenment

the fiercest scholars guarded Nalanda’s four gates

And Bodhgaya, where not all trees are famous

His Holiness has consecrated Khyongla Rinpoche’s stupa

The larger one is in the Rato temple

where monks sit for examination

younger ones await their turn

then play

The monastery is under new rule

the teak trees thrive

as do the palms

I visit the home of my friend Rashid

then to Kendalgiri

where children dance

my banyan dances too

I visit our monks’ rooms

pay respects to the incarnation of our former abbot Chuwar Rinpoche

my little student Leki Tsering studies hard

and Kamla sweeps

It’s lovely to be back

Soon on to Delhi where it’s cold

I visit barber

tailor

then off

to Rome

winter is crisp

and oh so beautiful

on to Göttingen

with my friends Adam

Hee Jin and Josh to meet Herr Steidl and absorb the wonders of his library

then take the train

and back to Rome to spend more time with father

view ancient murals

and enjoy the food