Ode To Buddhism Poem by Cynthia Yildirim

I
Siddharta the Buddha
His mother Queen Mara dreamt
She saw an elephant
That touched her right side
With the lotus leaf
She thus became pregnant
II
He was to be grand
At whatever he did
Once born he walked
A lotus flower sprouted from his step
He grew wise
III
He saw the holy men
He sought their knowledge
He learned of Samsara, Karma, and Moksha
He meditated relentlessly
IV
For six he lived by just enough
The milk maid gave him supplement
He ate and drank
The other holy men left him
They were disappointed at him
V
Siddharta was revived
Under a fig tree he sat to find
An answer to life and suffering
Mara tempted him
He did not wane
VI
He cast off ignorance
He cast off passion of ego
They had bound him to earth
He then became the enlightened one
Buddha
Reaching Nirvana
The ultimate divine
VII
Then he sought the holy men
They recognized his new state
Buddha then taught them at the
Dear Park Sermon
VIII
The true path
The middle way
Keeping away from
Both extremes
IX
Buddha taught the Darma
The Four Noble Truths
The Eightfold Path
Sanga protected the Darma
Bhikkus which were
Nuns and monks
Focused on Nirvana
X
Five Precepts
Do not Kill
Do not Steal
Do not Lie
Do not be Unchaste
Do not take drugs or drink intoxicants
He taught them to the masses
XI
Buddha got old
Cuanda gave him a meal
He became ill
Journeyed
He lay beneath a tree
The tree blossomed and showered him
He reached Parinivana
The ultimate of enlightenment
Thus he died
XII
Take heed and know
The Five Precepts
The Five Groups of Existence
That are suffering
Know the cause of suffering
The end of suffering
The path to the end of suffering
And ye shall live like ye
Have never lived
For the enlightened sees all
That this universe has to offer
And he thus creates anew with his knowledge
XIII
For to be wise is beautiful
As beautiful is your mind
As a thousand seas
As beautiful is your mind
As the love you breathe
As beautiful is your mind
As your love of self
Let go of your ego
And relax yourself
XIV
Meditate deeply
Educate yourself
Fall into enlightenment
In spite of yourself
Wait not for everyone
Focus on yourself
No more rebirths
If you reach that plane
High above the conscience
Use your power within
You will have all you need then
Siddharta was great as a man
Now he is Buddha a deity
Guiding us to purity

“And I discovered that profound truth, so difficult to perceive,
difficult to understand, tranquilizing and sublime, which is not to
be gained by mean reasoning, and is visible only to the wise.”
Buddha