Poems

A selection of poems from members of the Way of The Forest Empty Mountain Zen Hermitage sanga.

Sesshin Poems

Author Doshin Kusan wrote sometime in 1999, 2005, and 2010, duringsesshin I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed writing them. How did I become an old manWhen I look in the mirrorThe sound in the forest is ageless. So what is to become of meNow that I know it does not matterWho […]

I Woke Up One Night

I woke up one night; there was no rain; or thunder, or hail; or sideways rain,I moved some blinds and the moon was still full,I imagined the blue-purple water Lillies, I had seen some days ago.I could see my little dam in the full moon. Was my little dam full yet?It was calling out for […]

Sesshin Poems

The Sound of the Southland.

I was in a state of knowing recently: that I was not hearing. I stoppedmoving and I did not hear anything, not even the first Australianssinging. I wondered if all the first people had begun to die. I struggledto hear them singing and then I could not hear the didgeridoo or anysound. I was deep […]

Soto Zen Buddhism: Searching for Quality of Life and Learning about emptiness.

Author Reverend Doshin Kusan 3 May 2024 Exploring the conscious mind and using experiences in our daily lives with the author’s own experiences and mistakes. This quote is from Joko Beck, a Zen teacher with The Ordinary Mind Zen. Joko died in 2011. This is an idea about Zen: “ Caught in the self-centred dream: […]

I Woke Up One Night

Suffering, sadness and anguish by Reverend Doshin Kusan

Author Reverend Doshin Kusan Suffering, Sadness and Anguish 21/3/21 The talk today will be about suffering. Buddhism is about working with suffering and finding a way out of suffering. The Four Noble Truths; one of the first talks the Buddha gave after his enlightenment throws light on the real issues of suffering and how to […]