Some Poems On Buddha Poem by Sushil Kumar

1.
It's not that easy -
the one who saved the wounded swan from Devadatta,
the one who could not bear the world's sorrow,
who left behind his sleeping newborn and beloved spouse -

truly, you were Buddha,
even before you became the Buddha,
O ascetic!

2.
By the decay, death, and disease of the world,
we have never been so shaken,
O ascetic!

To comprehend your state of mind
is to return to that pilgrimage
that transformed you into Buddha.

3.
Leaving behind all riches,
forsaking all pleasures,
you ventured into the forest -
in search of what happiness?

Was that not true opulence…
was that not joy?
Was it all but a mirage,
all mere illusion?

4.
Wandering door to door,
begging for alms,
practicing austerities,
undergoing severe penance -

emaciated like a bare skeleton,
yet you kept searching,
your detachment unshaken;
you never returned
to the splendor of Kapilavastu.

Then came Sujata's rice pudding…
that Bodhi tree…
even as disciples called you misguided!
But you did not waver,
and one day you dissolved into yourself
(like salt in water) ,
merging into that state of non-being
where you were destined to.

A divine peace filled your weary face;
you attained
what you had been searching for.

5.
You realized the essence of the mortal body,
stilled the tides of the past,
relinquished dreams of the future,
and then immersed yourself
in unbroken Vipassana.

6.
You truly returned home,
leaving behind that inn,
that foreign palace.
How many battles did you fight within yourself!
And after losing everything,
you found everything.
You awakened to your true self.
You discovered who you truly are.

7.
You were a traveler.
You never worried about the destination.
In your words,
on your face,
there was so much love,
so much peace,
so much light!
I am truly amazed
by your shining humanity!

8.
I understand now -
to be a Buddha means to be a seeker,
to fight with oneself,
to conquer oneself,
to emerge victorious,
to uncover one's boundless potential of humanity.

9.
You became your own lamp,
in which all doubts were burned away,
all ego dissolved,
all fires of desire extinguished,
all cravings vanished.

10.
To do nothing
that is to be Buddha.
How easy it seems to attain enlightenment!
(For the world, it's akin to being a fool.)

Yes, it is also true that
to truly be Buddha
is not so easy,
in this burning jungle!