Inspiration
Poetry & Photography
by Venerable Bao Co
Let nature reveal how beautiful and delicate life is. Its fragrance is from another world.
Let the trees remind you that growth takes time.
Whispers Across Worlds
To my brother and sister Ahawee and Honehe with unconditional love,
The warm wind in the grasses,
these trees,
these shadows,
summer light intense and benevolent,
the entire mood
weaved into whispers,
across worlds, time and space.
Decoding flashes,
silent poses,
intuitively knowing,
this remembered past.
The breath of the wise,
words of sages,
drumbeats pulsating deep,
from Mother Earth’s Heart,
like voices echoing in stardust,
fireflies dancing over coneflowers and goldenrods,
the three times,
alive here and now,
celebrating with us this moment,
shared with authentic presence,
the whole, lead by the divine song-
a song beyond songs,
over dimensions unseen,
of no beginning, and no end.
~ Ven. Bao Co
Today, quietly,
We come to the cushion-
To open ourselves to this new moment,
This fragile presence, precious and luminous,
A delicate gift of the now.
This breath,
Threads itself into every fiber of our being,
Softly unfurling to the serenity
That descends from above-
An ethereal presence lingers,
Simply, as the touch of grace.
And in this quiet infolding,
We rest- not in grasping, but in oneness,
Grateful, not for one particular thing,
But for all there is:
This breath,
The silence,
With all the flowers of joy and blessings,
The lightness in the chest,
And trust deep inside,
We are a all a part to this infinite mastery
Upholding us all.
With joy,
~ Ven. Bao Co
By Nature, I Am
In the sanctum of the forest
I go to listen to the giant ones
breathe the pulse of Mother Earth
together with their close-by friends,
as they share stories with one another
in harmonious scales, and joyous keys.
Their bodies, limbs and roots
vibrate in an invisible tremble,
enveloping the forest in a muted symphony.
At their core, the sap sheamers with renewed life,
Among them, I stroll in ecstatic joy
enveloped by their life- force and strength.
I breathe deep- I become you.
The river swells with the season,
moving deep through rocks and minerals
carrying liquid light.
My mouth understands it
filling me up, with radiant rainbow colors.
The silver lake receives it all,
a large vasque of held water I long to visit
and sit in stillness by your side.
-In the climb of the mountain top,
I lay there
Marvel at the star dance
And other celestial bodies
In their inked canopy,
Filling my eyes of stardust….
To the infinite ocean
I always come back to,
Spring, Winter, I know the call.
Your waves pull me in each time,
Like you, by the Moon cycles
I am made of,
In my mother's womb.
In the deserted plains - of Cairo
I breathe in the heat from the air
where the winds of change have unearthened
the golden and blue winged scarab.
~Ven. Bao Co
08/28/2024
Be greatful
Be grateful for the little things,
the big things and everything in between,
for the essence of a meaningful life
resides in this life flow running
through our heart each moment
like a ribbon
dancing in the cosmic wind.
Open your heart
to give and receive
more than you can ever imagine.
With unconditional love,
~ Ven. Bao Co
08/27/24
Blessings, blessings…
Blessings have already started,
This morning, you are alive!
So freely, give the blessings away,
out of your generous heart,
just like a mother would…
With unconditional love,
~ Ven. Bao Co
08/24/24
Avalokiteshvara Boddhisatva of Great Compassion!
You are within each and every one of us!
When seeing your Divine form,
it reminds us of our cosmic origin,
our perfect nature,
all pure, luminous love and compassion,
the fabric of all creations;
your manifesting powers flowing,
dancing across infinite time and space
are the nectar to all life in the universe.
So, beloved one,
drop into your heart,
listen to the yearning you can’t quite name yet;
the silence, the stillness
will reveal what has been forgotten:
the truth inside of you!
Remember who you are!
~ Ven. Bao Co
10/23/2021
Details.
It is where the magic of Dharma resides,
In the details and the sum of its parts,
Life and Love, in creation manifest.
Take a moment-
Look into your own eyes,
A flower, a star, a dragonfly…
All, evolved through millions of years
In a perfection of design,
Of sophisticated balance,
Beauty and magic.
Details.
Take a look at your very own breath-
A fully lived one.
It is, in the richness of its journey,
that life unfolds within.
An event of that magnitude is not a bagatelle!
What would any dream or vision amount to
If details weren’t attentively attended,
Like a wild fire, on a stormy and windy night?
Details;
What this whole exuberant existence is made of!
Details, details so many of them
Within all things and beings,
Mirrors of each other,
Kaleidoscopes and holographic language
In the quiet alchemy of time.
With love,
~ Ven. Bao Co