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Far between sundown’s finish an’ midnight’s broken toll
We ducked inside the doorway, thunder crashing
As majestic bells of bolts struck shadows in the sounds
Seeming to be the chimes of freedom flashing
Flashing for the warriors whose strength is not to fight
Flashing for the refugees on the unarmed road of flight
An’ for each an’ ev’ry underdog soldier in the night
An’ we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing
In the city’s melted furnace, unexpectedly we watched
With faces hidden while the walls were tightening
As the echo of the wedding bells before the blowin’ rain
Dissolved into the bells of the lightning
Tolling for the rebel, tolling for the rake
Tolling for the luckless, the abandoned an’ forsaked
Tolling for the outcast, burnin’ constantly at stake
An’ we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing
Through the mad mystic hammering of the wild ripping hail
The sky cracked its poems in naked wonder
That the clinging of the church bells blew far into the breeze
Leaving only bells of lightning and its thunder
Striking for the gentle, striking for the kind
Striking for the guardians and protectors of the mind
An’ the unpawned painter behind beyond his rightful time
An’ we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing
Through the wild cathedral evening the rain unraveled tales
For the disrobed faceless forms of no position
Tolling for the tongues with no place to bring their thoughts
All down in taken-for-granted situations
Tolling for the deaf an’ blind, tolling for the mute
Tolling for the mistreated, mateless mother, the mistitled prostitute
For the misdemeanor outlaw, chased an’ cheated by pursuit
An’ we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing
Even though a cloud’s white curtain in a far-off corner flashed
An’ the hypnotic splattered mist was slowly lifting
Electric light still struck like arrows, fired but for the ones
Condemned to drift or else be kept from drifting
Tolling for the searching ones, on their speechless, seeking trail
For the lonesome-hearted lovers with too personal a tale
An’ for each unharmful, gentle soul misplaced inside a jail
An’ we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing
Starry-eyed an’ laughing as I recall when we were caught
Trapped by no track of hours for they hanged suspended
As we listened one last time an’ we watched with one last look
Spellbound an’ swallowed ’til the tolling ended
Tolling for the aching ones whose wounds cannot be nursed
For the countless confused, accused, misused, strung-out ones an’ worse
An’ for every hung-up person in the whole wide universe
An’ we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing

~ Dylan

When everything inside and outside,
bodily and mental,
has been let go;
when, as in the void,
no attachments are left,
that is the highest form of relinquishment.

~ Huang-po

Discard all you have acquired as being no better than a bed, spread for you when you were sick. Only when you have abandoned all perceptions, and rid yourself of dualistic concepts such as “ignorance” and “enlightenment” will you be worthy to be called a Buddha.

The original mind is without distinctions; when a sudden flash of thought occurs in your mind, even if a Buddha arises, cut him off. Many people are afraid to empty their minds lest they plunge into the void. They do not know that their own mind is the void.

~ Huang po

Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.

~ Carl Jung
Swiss psychologist (1875 - 1961)

@rookie54 said
Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.

~ Carl Jung
Swiss psychologist (1875 - 1961)

@rookie54 said
Half into the mountains,
A mountain monastery.
A man in the country now,
I climb to it on an autumn day.
It is right in their midst,
With lovely rocks askew;
Solitary on the summit
On the very highest perch.

~ Dun Xunhe (846-904)

Ignore the stalker and don’t feed the troll.

The way to true spirituality
Cannot depend upon others;
One instant of enlightenment
And I go beyond body and self.
The myriad and profound virtues
Are complete;
Anywhere in the universe
Is now my home.

~ Mokuan (1611-1676)

Contemplate emptiness:
The moon suspended over the
Village at midnight.
Suddenly my soul is startled
By the howl of an ape
Who could know that it
Would arouse me beyond my senses,
And bring an inner vision
From Mount Sumeru.

~ Dokuryu (1671)

Something has existed before
Heaven and Earth
Shapeless and silent
In its origin
Yet the master of every
Image and form
It can never wither
With the passing of time

~ Bankei (1622-1693)

Not many small huts in view,
Only three or four to be seen
Frosted trees dance in the sparse woods,
Showing sudden touches of color.
White clouds lie protectively
Over the closed brushwood gate;
The man out seeking the magic fungus
Has not yet returned.

~ Toko Shin-etsu (1639-1696)

Old friends, we have sought out a place to meet,
Now we chat by the window until
The candles burn out.
Talking and laughing together,
Our faces are happy
And our hearts serene.
This friendship is as pure as water;
We jot down our poems
With strong brushwork.

~ Monchu (1739-1829)

That night staying at a Buddhist temple,
I climbed to the highest room,
The brilliance of stars and moon
Obscured by the clouds,
Gibbons cried, the bell toned
I was oblivious to dawn
Until gradually brightening,
A cold winter sun rose in the East.

~ unattributed

The sun shines warmly,
The spring snow clears;
The jaws of the plum
And the face of the willow
Vie with their fragrant freshness.
The occasion for poetry
And spiritual diversion
Holds boundless meaning.
Permitted only to the person
Who wanders in the fields
And arduously composes poetry!

~ Daito Kokushi

Sentient beings are really Buddha.
Like water and ice;
Apart from water, no ice;
Outside of sentient beings, no Buddha.
Not knowing it is near
They seek for it afar!
Just like being in water,
But crying for thirst!

~ Hakuin