Category: The Jewelled Garden

Tilopa ((988–1069 CE) was an Indian tantric Buddhist wandering monk, whose principal student was Naropa, and who is considered the grandfather of the Tibetan Kagyu lineage. These verses are taken Continue Reading →

Shaqiq of Balkh was a merchant and a pious Muslim. Once he went to Turkestan on a trading expedition, bringing a caravan of pack animals laden with goods. On the Continue Reading →

If we persist for long enough in our practice, Sun Bu’er tells us, there will be a result. Cut brambles long enough,Sprout after sprout,And the lotus will bloomOf its own Continue Reading →

For some information on the classical Indian poet and dramatist Kalidasa, see this post. Listen to the Exhortation of the Dawn!Look to this Day!For it is Life, the very Life Continue Reading →

It is reported that Dhul Nun, returning from Jerusalem, saw a figure in the distance. and felt a desire to question whoever it was. Drawing near, he saw that it Continue Reading →

For some information about the 10th c. Tamil poet and mystic Sivavakkiyar, see this post. When a clay vessel falls , they still save the shards;When a bronze vessel falls, Continue Reading →

For more about the Chinese hermit and poet Hanshan, or Cold Mountain, see this post. The ‘homeless’ here refers to those who have ‘left home’ to become a monk or Continue Reading →

Fakhruddin Iraqi (1213 – 1289 CE) was a Sufi and poet born in Persia but who travelled extensively, visiting India, Anatolia and Egypt before ultimately passing away in Damascus. For Continue Reading →

For some background on Sri Ramakrishna, see this post. It is not good to say that what we ourselves think of God is the only truth and what others think Continue Reading →

For more about the 13th c. CE Franciscan monk and poet Jacopone da Todi, see this earlier post. Oh, the futility of seeking to conveyWith images and feelingsThat which surpasses Continue Reading →