As Breath Defines Constriction (Solar Wind)
The snake swallows itself, integrating the opposite. Or, illustrating the
nature of earthquakes, encourages conjecture.
Wind meditation. The practice of circling mountains, of emptying oneself.
Matter accelerating away from the sun. The prickly pear on the roof.
The Tendai monks of Hiei run 40 kilometers each day for 100 consecutive days.
Only then may they petition to complete the thousand-day trial.
Coronal mass ejections temporarily deform the Earth’s magnetic field.
I sweat while driving to the store for cold beer.
The heliopause is the point at which the solar wind’s strength is no longer
sufficient to push back the interstellar medium.
No matter its destination, a comet’s tail always points away from the sun.
At which point does one hear the sound of sunlight entering stone?
They must complete the thousand-day challenge or die. To this end,
each monk carries a knife and length of rope on his journey.
A map is simply paper. Solar wind, cord of death.
Stones in the path, quivering earth. Eyes focused ahead.
***
“As Breath Defines Constriction” is included in The Circumference of Other, my offering in the Silver Birch Press publication, IDES: A Collection of Poetry Chapbooks, available on Amazon.
Nice post!! Keep.it up!
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Thank you, Chelsea. I’ll try.
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You mention the thousand days as a trial. For those who do complete … what have they thereby qualified for? Opportunity to do it yet again? Status? (Would be interesting to poll those finishers after they’ve had a year or so to reflect … ask them what they gained …)
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Presumably they’ll have gained enlightenment. It’s a multi-year trial, with 100-day blocks of “marathons.” And some have done it again.
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Relieved to hear the 1000 days is not continuous …
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Yeah, 100 consecutive days would be bad enough.
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This is a gorgeous and excruciating meditation! What is more important in life than to determine at what point perseverance and effective death are indistinguishable, and alter course, accordingly?
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Though this particular trial is not attractive to me (lifelong vows of celibacy and sobriety are not appealing, I must admit), the ability to recognize needs and to alter course do resonate.
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Is it possible the sound of sunlight entering stone is audible after completing the thousand-day trial?
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I wouldn’t doubt it!
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I see the light, but I do not know what direction my star comes from
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Your star is everywhere, Ivor!
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