{"id":3959,"date":"2023-05-04T16:59:45","date_gmt":"2023-05-04T16:59:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/?p=3959"},"modified":"2023-05-04T16:59:45","modified_gmt":"2023-05-04T16:59:45","slug":"a-poem-to-take-to-heart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/?p=3959","title":{"rendered":"A Poem to Take to Heart"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Third Position: Neither Here, Nor There<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Then, Once and Now…<\/em><\/h5>\n

EF Hulsizer, 2004<\/em><\/p>\n

It is just a matter of hitting the bell, closing the door, lighting a candle.<\/p>\n

In the past IT abides,<\/p>\n

In the future IT abides,<\/p>\n

In the present IT abides.<\/p>\n

But don\u2019t ask, \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n

You seek an answer with a hammer,<\/p>\n

Pounding on the fog you think you will make a break and see through.<\/p>\n

Stay still and turn.<\/p>\n

Make the turn and hear the echoes of habits and wishes.<\/p>\n

Feel the striving gut that wants something more.<\/p>\n

Wait.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t hurry away.<\/p>\n

It is the Way.<\/p>\n

Endless turning until<\/p>\n

the floor of the mind collapses.<\/p>\n

Stop the hunt for the other.<\/p>\n

Stop the chase.<\/p>\n

You stalk a reply.<\/p>\n

Respond without worry.<\/p>\n

When you smell smoke, yell, \u201cfire!\u201d<\/p>\n

When you see the table holds the cup,<\/p>\n

See the cup hold the tea!<\/p>\n

Look through,<\/p>\n

See, neither here, nor there.<\/p>\n

It is the buoyant cheers of scorpions and pigeons,<\/p>\n

That you kill and stuff with your conclusions.<\/p>\n

You cry, \u201cHow do I help?\u201d<\/p>\n

No hands, no harm.<\/p>\n

You cry, \u201cHave I gone too far?\u201d<\/p>\n

Neither far, nor near.<\/p>\n

You cry, \u201cwhat is the point?\u201d<\/p>\n

The sun, the moon and the stars.<\/p>\n

When you give up the wish for something else, something more<\/p>\n

You are home.<\/p>\n

Then, once, and now there is nothing that escapes the past, the future, the present.<\/p>\n

Your plans show the hidden tenants,<\/p>\n

\u201cMe, My, Mine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Safety boxes and storage houses overflow with false ideas.<\/p>\n

You pound your hammer with great desire and fail to hear the wondrous voice.<\/p>\n

When you realize the heart drums without a score and the ear hears without direction<\/p>\n

you sit near the edge of the flowing river.<\/p>\n

When wishes for and against subside<\/p>\n

And the nose smells without form<\/p>\n

The bees suckle the flowers and<\/p>\n

Gestures of life wave<\/p>\n

To awaken the unfilled.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Humming<\/h1>\n

Author: Fly<\/p>\n

Old Moon<\/p>\n

Zen Contemplative of the Order of Hsu Yun<\/p>\n

ZATMA\u00a0 is not a blog.<\/p>\n

\u00a0If for some reason you need elucidation on the teaching,<\/p>\n

please contact editor at:\u00a0yao.xiang.editor@gmail.com<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Third Position: Neither Here, Nor There Then, Once and Now… EF Hulsizer, 2004 It is just a matter of hitting the bell, closing the door, lighting a candle. In the past IT abides, In the future IT abides, In the present IT abides. But don\u2019t ask, \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d You seek an answer… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"off","neve_meta_content_width":70,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,185,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3959","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-essays","category-fashi-lao-yue","category-uncategorized"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3959","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3959"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3959\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3961,"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3959\/revisions\/3961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zatma.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}