Obstacles to Happiness*

A monk, Bhaddiya, was meditating

Long ago in India when

Some other monks heard him exclaim

"My happiness!" again and again.

Assuming that Bhaddiya lamented

The style of life that he had maintained

Before he gave up everything,

Donned his robes, and became ordained.

The other monks went to the Buddha

And told him that Bhaddiya had sunk

Far below the standards required

To be a devout, righteous monk.

"Bring him to me," their master said,

Knowing full well the situation.

The puzzled monk entered the chamber

And bowed to the Buddha in humble prostration.

The Buddha asked, "Bhaddiya, were you

Repeating 'My happiness!' a while ago?

If indeed you were, dear friend,

Is there something that we should know?"

"Master," Bhaddiya replied, "at times

It's hard for me to contain my bliss.

There's absolutely nothing about

My former lifestyle that I miss.

"I was a statesman with power and wealth.

Servants and guards: there were so many.

But reasons to be happy? Well,

I had a hard time finding any.

"Though I had guards, I always feared

Someone would try to kill me and take

All my money and all my possessions.

There was always so much at stake.

"But now I live in utmost freedom.

I have no fears; I feel…elated.

Never have I felt so happy--

So completely liberated!"

The other monks felt slightly ashamed.

How quickly they had jumped to conclusions!

How easily they had let themselves

Be caught off guard and trapped by illusions!

Bhaddiya had already learned his lesson.

Our ideas--he would confess--

Of what can make us happy can be

Obstacles to our happiness.

-by Bob B (4-30-18)

*An old tale retold here in verse

To Flip or Not to Flip

A situation must be uncertain

When the attorney that you hired

Badly needs his OWN attorney,

And it won't help to say, "You're fired!"

Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen

As part of a criminal investigation?

Will Cohen flip? people wonder.

Would there be a motivation?

Trump claims he isn't concerned

As they proceed catch-if-catch-can.

Cohen "would take a bullet for him."

He will surely stand by his man.

Cohen as Trump's "Fixer" has been

Part of an ongoing partnership.

Would Trump even bring it up

UNLESS there were good reasons to flip?

-by Bob B (4-22-18)

Under Attack!

"It's an attack--an attack on our country,"

The president said. "It's a disgrace."

It's still amazing how he can say

The things he does and keep a straight face.

The Mueller probe's an attack on our country?

An attack on all we stand for? Say what?

Maybe if Trump had been honest and forthright

He wouldn't find himself in a rut.

What DO we stand for? Rule of law,

Search warrants, magistrates…

Where no one's above the law, not even

The president of the United States.

The president's idols--Putin, Duterte,

And Erdoğan--would never permit

Investigations into their own acts.

To strongmen it would NOT be legit.

To Trump a legal pursuit to find

Answers is a ruthless attack.

Yet Russia assaults our democratic

System, and Putin's a crackerjack!

Poor Trump just doesn't get it.

Whenever he talks, he more or less

Rubs salt in his very own wounds

And finds himself in a bigger mess.

-by Bob B (4-11-18)

The Tale of an Operator

This is the tale of an EPA

Administrator who

Has no shame at all about taking

Advantage of me and you.

We've seen him roll back fifty years

Of environmental protections;

That's bad for us but good for all of his

Oil and gas connections.

A costly, inflated security team

To fly with him overseas

24/7? That ought to make

Taxpayers ill at ease.

For him first class is a must when he flies;

To hell with flying coach.

He feels his team deserves the same

And thinks he's beyond reproach.

Better yet, he would prefer

Military jets.

So what if it costs us even more money;

He has no regrets.

When staff members question his spending

And wonder if it's required,

They will find themselves demoted,

Reassigned, or fired.

Receiving monetary favors

From lobbyists isn't proper.

He wants a bullet-proof SUV;

But here's the real showstopper:

Security staff admit that when he--

In order to catch his flights

Or go to dinner--will ask them to use

Their sirens and flashing lights!

A recent trip took him and his team

To Morocco, but alas,

Believe it or not, the reason was

To promote natural gas!

His attitude toward tax-payer

Dollars is cavalier;

But when it comes to helping the poor,

He is more austere.

So this is how Trump drains the swamp!

A funny way to do it.

But maybe he fits right in with the rest:

That's our man Scott Pruitt!

-by Bob B (4-6-18)

The World-Altering Birth of the Buddha*

Over 2500 years ago,

In Kapilavatthu, not very far

From the Himalayas, Queen Māyā

Dreamed something that she found bizarre:

Clothed in flowers, she was paid

A visit by an elephant—lily white—

Bearing in its trunk a pure white lotus

That softly glowed in the moonlit night.

After circling her three times,

The elephant, such as she'd never seen,

Tapped her thrice on her right side

And then vanished inside the queen.

She shared her dream with King Śuddhodana,

Who summoned the Brahmins immediately

To hear the details of the queen's strange dream

And explain to him what the meaning might be.

"The queen will have a son," they said,

"And he will become one of two things:

A conqueror or a holy man.

We shall see what the future brings."

When the time of birth drew near,

The queen longed to visit the place

Where she'd grown up. Her caring midwife

Accompanied her just in case.

As they approached Lumbini Grove,

Her entourage smelled the scent

Of gardens of spices and blossoming trees

That formed a protective, natural tent.

The queen entered the grove and there

Between the blossoming sala trees

Gave birth to her son, Prince Siddhārtha,

While blossoms rained down in the gentle breeze.

According to some accounts, on that day

The ground shook and the trees swayed.

Joyous sounds filled the air

As soothing celestial music played.

As sweet tea fell from the clouds above,

The infant took seven steps and proclaimed:

"I alone am the World-Honored One"--

A title that he was later named.

Back to Kapilavatthu they traveled.

A few days later, Queen Māyā died.

Her sister, Pajāpatī, became

The prince's mother and the king's new bride.

Thus goes a wondrous version

Of a narrative that finds great worth

By beautifully combining legends

And written accounts of the Buddha's birth.

Fact and myth are interwoven

In many great figures from our past.

But true meaning transcends the records

And points to deeper truths that last.

-by Bob B (4-5-18)

*On April 8, many Buddhists around the world

celebrate the birth of the historic Buddha. This

was written to honor the occasion.

The Scorpion*

Two monks were kneeling by a river,

Washing their bowls in its gentle flow.

One rescued a drowning scorpion,

Which stung him in the hand before he let it go.

Finishing their daily ritual,

They were about to depart when

They noticed that the very same scorpion

Had fallen into the water again.

Once more the monk reached down,

Scooped up the scorpion with his hand,

And once more the scorpion stung him

Before he placed it on the dry sand.

The other monk questioned him:

"I know the scorpion's a living thing,

But why do you keep saving it when

You know its NATURE is to sting?

"I don't think I could give it

The kind attention that you gave it."

The first monk calmly looked at the other

And replied, "It's MY nature to save it."

-by Bob B (4-4-18)

*An old story retold here in verse

Letter from Putin

Dear Donald Trump, my friend,

I bet your patience is wearing thin.

Because of your democracy,

Investigations are closing in.

Since I can use my magic

To make people disappear,

Such investigative threats

Are never going to happen here.

From watching your revolving-door

Administration, I can see

That you, like me, expect one thing

Above all others: loyalty.

What is all this talk about

Ties with Russian oligarchs?

Don't your people realize that

Our bites are much, much worse than our barks?

Although I appreciate

What you did during your campaign--

The helpful steps you took to soften

Your stance on giving aid to Ukraine--

We still have a ways to go.

But one thing that I have to say

Is you have been good about

Respecting our little NDA.°

Lifting sanctions would be a big help.

I thought that maybe a good incentive

Would be our many ICBMs,

For you know we're very inventive.

But, no, let's not talk about threats.

If your cards are rightly played,

You will be as strong as I.

In other words, you'll have it made.

Ah, silence is golden, no?

One thing is sure as shootin':

I'd hate to have to spill the beans

'Bout you know what. Your friend, Putin.

-by Bob B (4-2-18)

°non-disclosure agreement