Zen Chaos Writing

Numbers and Lists I find myself Trying to forget the numbers Even as the umbrella shelters Four noble truths Three marks of existence Five disassembled aggregates Three poisons and five fences Ten perfections and four sublime states Twelve fetters and equal consequences And at least five suggested commitments Under the eight steps we choose to walk— I find myself Trying to forget the numbers As it goes beyond numbers That suffering is life’s inevitability Caused by thirst and

The poem Immeasurable refers to Buddhism's Four Immeasurables--for the hopeful, a prayer of sorts; for the secular, a way of reforming one's intentions towards others via active reinforcement of loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity.