MANTRAS

Through the years . . . now today and always a “presence” appearing in moments “unselected” and moments sought for.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

—Robert Frost, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”

Leagues of sky silent lie,
blue and free, calling me.
Where the horizon fair,
binds earth and air.
Cloud ships gaily,
venture daily,
on the silent sea. -  eagle rock (Los Angeles), California, 1931, kindergarten, spring semester. At age four years-ten months

I am Wu Hoo Git! I’m tired of classics! I long for the free air of life!  / Longing for the free air of life, always and forever, no doubt, a given. / A year at UCLA in 1943-44 before induction into the army /  first line spoken as the juvenile, Wu Hoo Git in George C. Hazelton and Benrimo’s “Yellow Jacket” in Royce Hall 170 theatre-in-the-round, in March, 1944.

Oh God, it’s wonderful. I feel as if I have the taste of blood in me mouth, the taste of the blood of me enemies, the taste of the blood of the men who taught me to love their laws and hate life. I that have warm blood and the laugh of a giant!  / playing Denis Dillon in Paul Vincent Carol’s “The White Steed” in Royce Hall 170, never-t0-be forgotten declaration longing for the free air of life,

The blood of me enemies—always would it be so, had been so—men (and/or women) who would teach me to love their laws and hate life. “I that have warm blood and the laugh of a giant. . .” and the never-ceasing desire to celebrate life.

Silent hum of people chanting Nam-Myoho Renge Kyo entering Myohoji Temple, turning to friends, saying, “Ive been here before.”

and

A Group of Immigrants as they fulfill the requirements of entrance into the new country. Consciously accepting the ways of a new stage of experience, in readiness for the opportunities it will present. . . We find ourselves in a period of transition. We have to imitate, yet retain our inner integrity. – rising sign (eastern horizon) at moment of “accepting” object of worship Nichiren Shoshu of America at Myohoji Temple, Etiwanda, California October 24, 1976.

December 5, 1977, Brentwood, California:

an albatross feeding from the hand of a sailor

keynote: The overcoming of fear and its rewards

Persons who radiate perfect harmlessness can call the wildest creatures to them . . . Every living entity plays a role in the world’s ritual if existence . . . the communion of love and compassion can bring together the most disparate lives.

Rudhyar: At this last stage of the fifty-sixth sequence we are presented with a picture extending the ideal of peace and happiness through culture so it now includes all living organisms on this planet. The power of such a culture of harmlessness and compassion generates trust everywhere. / “Original Intent” Promises Made in Past Lives, as “Five Realms of Human Destiny “discovered.”

1982, reading the New York Times Sunday Supplement, September 26, “Beyond Newton and Einstein / on the New Frontier of Physics” by Timothy Ferris, visiting professor at the University of Southern California School of Journalism, the author of  “Galaxies.”

 “These [unified] theories which stand on the very frontier of physics, are most precisely not expressed in words, but as mathematical equations. They imply that all the known forces in nature are manifestations of one basic interaction, and that once, long ago, all were part of a single universal force or process.

Nothingness contains all of being, writes the physicist, Heinz R. Pagels in his book “The Cosmic Code.” “All of physics – everything we hope to know – is waiting in the vacuum to be discovered.”

And this from The Threefold Lotus Sutra, Sutra of Innumerable Meanings, Preaching: “Bodhisattvas, if they want to learn and master the doctrine of Innumerable Meanings, should observe that all laws were originally, will be, and are in themselves void in nature and form; they are neither great nor small, neither appearing nor disappearing, neither fixed nor movable, and neither advancing nor retreating; and they are nondualistic, just emptiness. . .”

discovering hui-neng, “enlightenment here and now” at Rissho Kosei-kai, in early 1990s:

. . . In this enlightened awareness, we can all see the marvelous wonder of our universe, blemishes and all, and find our home and comfort in a cosmos that is magically a part of us, and us a part of it. This interpenetration of the individual in the universe is what the Buddha’s teachings are all about. This is their scope and majesty.

“Inner Worlds, Outer Worlds” “Samadhi” and Samadhi 2” films of Daniel J. Patrick most recent treasure trove of “Mantras”

 and yet, somehow the most “ancient of mantras” in this life seems to say it all.  “Leagues of sky, silent lie, blue and free, calling me. Where the horizon fair binds earth and air. Cloud ships daily venture gaily on the silent sea.”

The adventure continues each day, fueled by living with “The Threefold Lotus Sutra“. . .

“. . .for I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep. . . “