Light

Many days, I spent in wonder: 

Who am I? Where do I come from? 

Where am I going? 

This writing is the result of my meditation. 

It is by no means truth.

The truth, can only be realized within. 

These words interpret 

What I have found within my own heart.

We are body.

We are mind.

We are heart.

We are spirit.

We are light.

The body is what does.

The mind is what thinks.

The heart is what feels.

The spirit is what lives.

The light is what is.

The body is sustained by food, water, and air.

The mind is sustained by truth.

The heart is sustained by joy.

The spirit is sustained by purpose.

The light is sustained by its source.

The light is what was before being

and remains after being.

Yet being is not separate from what is,

for it is light taken shape and form

and coming into being.

Everything is light and born of light.

Even the shadows do not exist without light.

Examine the ten thousand things,

beyond form,

and find its only being

is the shape of its light.

The difference between the living

and the non-living

is that the sentient tend to the light.

The rest are like lamps without oil,

cold and still.

The world of being

is a world of suffering,

a world sustained by shadows.

It is created by our mistaking

this body, this mind, this heart and this spirit

for what is.

In forgetting our light

we forget what sustains us,

draw away from the source,

and we begin to grow dim.

We hunger

and desire is born.

We consume the light

of what surrounds us.

Our fulfillment is always short lived.

A desire fulfilled is replaced with another.

Fire must always be fed to be.

Suffering is born.

In the world of non-being

the flame is no longer fed.

It is losing self,

it is being no longer,

it is the flame put out.

Neither be

nor not be.

Instead,

be without being.

Like the bright star

in our corner of the universe,

that does not let go

of what she protects,

the source of our light

keeps us near.

Close your eyes

and see the shapeless form

that embraces us

within and without.

Close your ears

and hear the whisper

of the music that calls us home.

Find your original face.

Find the Way back home.

NOTES
Light: The energy which is the essential ingredient of all existence. 
The world of "Being": Existence which is commonly referred to as the illusion of self that abides in Samsara. 
Non-being: The extinction of being, non-self which is commonly referred to as nirvana. 
Be without being: Abide in Tao. 
Bright star: The sun, whose pull keeps the planets in our solar system from spinning away and out of control. 
Home: I don't know where I come from, but I know I shall return. What I do know within my heart is that the light from the source is untainted and pure, and I call it divine love. In my humble opinion, love is what sustains all and love that is without measure is eternal and everlasting. 
Namaste' : The light within me bows to the light within you. 

By– Ch'onsa Kim