Prapancha Soup – A Recipe for Disaster

03 Thursday Apr 2014

Posted by Worldly Winds in Buddhism, Humour, NaPoWriMo, Poetry

≈ 22 Comments

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Alexandra Carr-Malcolm, Buddhism, poetry, Prapacha Soup, Prapancha, UK poet, Uk poetry, Yorkshire poet

Take a cup of envy,

and mix it with some greed,

season it with hatred,

then add some, woe is me!

Plus one spoon of ego,

marinade in pity,

righteous indignation,

will make the mixture pretty.

Make a quick snap judgement,

blend it with assumption,

now, Prapancha Soup,

is ready for consumption!

By Alexandra Carr-Malcolm

English: Beetroot soup with vegetables and hard-boiled eggs, Sanok (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Big Buddha House

30 Saturday Nov 2013

Posted by Worldly Winds in Buddhism, Humour, Poetry

≈ 8 Comments

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Alexandra Carr-Malcolm, Buddha, Buddhism, Buddhist retreat, Dharma, enlightenment, humour, meditation, poetry, UK poet, Uk poetry, Yorkshire poet

Day eight in the Big Buddha House,

and all is well.

There’s jam on my toast,

and my drink is swell;

and even the rota,

says I’m free ‘til the bell.

Sat on the cushion,

meditation’s not pushin’

my buttons today,

all is calm for a change,

Mental weather is clement,

and nothing to lament,

in the Big Buddha House today.

Prostration – not frustratin’

and the bruise on my knee,

nearly gone thankfully,

and the muscles in my tum’

no longer undone;

I can launch with abandon,

then horizontal to standin’ –

not bad for an old bird like me!

Then the talks – they inspire,

and my mind is on fire,

with ideas and with thoughts,

with a passion they course,

and my heart it does swell,

and I’m leaning as well,

Yes! These things they call ethics,

are quite deep and complex,

let’s leave it at that, just for now…

Oh – the food is sublime,

as I sit down to dine.

Delia is surpassed!

Skilful cooks make repast,

and the smells in the steam,

am I sensing Tajine,

in the Big Buddha House today?

And then there’s our dorm,

floor two, number one,

where sisters in Dharma,

sleep safe, warm, and calm;

and I have to confess

though my bed is a mess,

and my corner’s a state,

we three, are good mates,

in our cosy warm dorm –

floor two, number one.

Day eight in the Big Buddha House,

and all is well.

There’s jam on my toast,

and my drink is swell;

and even the rota,

says I’m free ‘til the bell.

by Alexandra Carr-Malcolm

Raven, with her hood down, meditating. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Perfect Breakfast

30 Saturday Nov 2013

Posted by Worldly Winds in Buddhism, Humour, Poetry

≈ 19 Comments

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Alexandra Carr-Malcolm, Buddhism, enlightenment, habits, humour, meditation, poetry, tea, UK poet, Uk poetry, writing, Yorkshire poet

My tea is too hot,

my tea is too cold,

my tea is too sweet,

the milk is too old.

The toast is too burnt,

it’s not brown enough,

I wanted white bread,

Oh no… not the crust!

I can’t find my jam,

the banana’s got spots,

there is no fruit knife,

the apple’s got rot!

The porridge is lumpy,

I can taste tahini,

I’ve added some milk,

and now it’s too creamy!

I’ve lost my spot,

someone else is sat there,

I wanted to sit,

in my favourite chair.

I’m trapped in a corner,

I’m sat in a draft,

I’m too near the door,

Oh! All this is daft!

I should just be grateful,

that I’m here today,

living and breathing,

the middle way.

it’s ten twenty four,

we meditate in a bit,

I stand at the door,

now where shall I sit?

This cushion’s too high,

this cushion’s too low,

this cushion’s too lumpy,

and on it goes…

by Alexandra Carr-Malcolm

English: I took this picture. Grilled cheese sandwich with white bread, American cheese, and tomato soup. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Change

30 Saturday Nov 2013

Posted by Worldly Winds in Buddhism, Poetry

≈ 8 Comments

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Alexandra Carr-Malcolm, Buddha, Buddhism, change, enlightenment, ethics, meditation, poetry, UK poet, Uk poetry, writing, Yorkshire poet

Will I be changed when I go home?

Physiologically within my anatomy,

the square root of all, as follicles fall,

and even my skin, the body I’m in,

will all have aged, showing signs of decay,

the reminders that say, time is passing away.

And what of my mind, what will I find,

when I peer inside, mental chatter subsided?

Still waters run deep, has the ethical seeped,

within my being, all knowing all seeing?

Will the sky like mind be more refined?

And what of my words, will they be kindly heard?

Will they help and caress, not causing me stress?

No longer frivolous, talking of trivial stuff,

but gentle with harmony, causin’ no harm today,

encouraging and pure, where less is more.

Will I be changed when I go? I sincerely hope so.

All these ethics abound, turned my brain upside down,

which connects to my heart, from which I can start,

more subtle and deeper, universal teacher.

I can put into practice, no delusion or malice,

all the things I have learned for which my heart yearns,

and Yes! – I am changing.

by Alexandra Carr-Malcolm

Gerber Daisy With Raindrops (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Feather Vajra

15 Sunday Sep 2013

Posted by Worldly Winds in Buddhism, Poetry

≈ 9 Comments

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Alexandra Carr-Malcolm, Buddha, Buddhism, enlightenment, Feather and Down, gentleness, poetry, truth, UK poet, Uk poetry, Vajra, Vajrasattva, Yorkshire poet

and in her hand she held a feather vajra,

at the core, a gentle beating heart,

around the heart, two eggshell lotus’s cupped,

intertwined like a mother’s hands.

Around a band of unicorns,

four magical, mystical, protectors,

and a vajra made of feathers.

by Alexandra Carr-Malcolm

Emblem of Bhutan (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The vajra, a distinct symbol of Vajrayana (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Stillness

24 Saturday Aug 2013

Posted by Worldly Winds in Buddhism, Nature, Poetry

≈ 17 Comments

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Alexandra Carr-Malcolm, Buddhism, butterflies, contentment, enlightenment, poetry, simplicity, stillness, sun, UK poet, Uk poetry, Yorkshire poet

just as the butterfly

settles on a flower

and spreads her wings

in reverence to the sun

let our minds

still, and feast

on the nectar

of this sublime

life

by Alexandra Carr-Malcolm

Der Schmetterlingsjäger (The butterfly hunter) by Carl Spitzweg (1840), a depiction from the era of butterfly collection. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Buddha Day

26 Sunday May 2013

Posted by Worldly Winds in Buddhism, Poetry

≈ 6 Comments

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Alexandra Carr-Malcolm, Buddha, Buddhism, enlightenment, poetry, UK poet, Wesak, Yorkshire poet

Buddha mind

Burning bright

Searing serenity

Luminous light.

Buddha eyes

Warrior’s way

Diamond depth

Gentle gaze.

Buddha nature

Human heart

Sangha sings

Compassionate.

By Alexandra Carr-Malcolm

Enlightening Seeds

21 Thursday Mar 2013

Posted by Worldly Winds in Buddhism, Deep Stuff!, Poetry

≈ 12 Comments

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Alexandra Carr-Malcolm, Alice Oswald, breath, Buddhism, enlightenment, Germination, meditation, rebirth, Seed, spiritual death, spiritual growth, spiritual rebirth, transformation, UK poet, vision, Yorkshire poet

The penultimate piece was inspired by Alice Oswald‘s, ‘A Winged Seed’. The idea was to write a piece based on the idea of a seed, or a spore, travelling, or germinating.

Enlightening Seeds

Sitting, just sitting…

waiting for illumination.

There is nothing

more that I can do,

other than…

sitting, sitting, waiting

for my head to crack open

in a cacophony of life,

shattered and broken,

to all that I am.

No longer

sitting,

but waiting,

waiting for that explosion of growth,

to rip forth and pull me from mundanity,

and thrust me upon the world;

as what?

I know not,

so I will sit,

and wait,

upon this breath,

of fresh air.

by Alexandra Carr-Malcolm

A germinated seedling (Eranthis hyemalis) emerges from the ground (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Now Change Your Life

19 Tuesday Mar 2013

Posted by Worldly Winds in Buddhism, Death, Deep Stuff!, Poetry

≈ 13 Comments

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Alexandra Carr-Malcolm, Archaic Torso of Apollo, breath, Buddhism, death, Don Paterson, poetry, Rilke, spiritual death, UK poet, Vajrasattva, Yorkshire poet

The second piece was based on, ‘Archaic Torso of Apollo’ after Rilke, translated by Don Paterson.

The idea was to include the line, ‘Now change your life’ either at the end or somewhere in the body of the poem.

Here was my attempt.

Now Change Your Life

I smell you in my dreams.

Elusive, exclusive,

to all realms,

but what of it?

Stoic indifference,

tantric magnificence,

eyes tantalise,

and plead,

“Now change your life”

before death slams the door

on opportunities scorned,

and breath is spent,

like a match.

by Alexandra Carr-Malcolm

Rainer Maria Rilke (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Alice

09 Saturday Mar 2013

Posted by Worldly Winds in Buddhism, Death, Deep Stuff!, Sanity

≈ 17 Comments

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Alexandra Carr-Malcolm, Alice, Alice in Wonderland, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Buddhism, delusion, Hatter, poetry, truth, UK poet, White Rabbit, Yorkshire poet

Don’t cry, said Alice,

it’s all a game,

life and death,

it’s all the same.

Don’t be fooled,

it’s all illusion,

don’t believe,

your own delusion.

Look in the mirror,

what do you see?

a collection of habits,

that I call, ‘Me’.

Step through the mirror,

beyond the girl,

and look into,

another world.

Experience,

is one third true,

but only for,

the reflected you.

So don’t believe,

all that you feel,

the crux of life –

nothing is real.

So, White Rabbit,

I would say,

there is no point,

to run away…

and Hatter, dear,

we’re all quite mad,

pour the tea,

and don’t be sad.

by Alexandra Carr-Malcolm

Alice’s Abenteuer im Wunderland Übersetzer: Antonie Zimmermann Orginal Titel: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Illustrationen: John Tenniel (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Worldly Winds

~ It's not easy being me!

Tag Archives: Buddhism

Prapancha Soup – A Recipe for Disaster

The Big Buddha House

The Perfect Breakfast

Change

The Feather Vajra

Stillness

Buddha Day

Enlightening Seeds

Now Change Your Life

Alice

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