Beyond the Path

Holy books are paths to encounter God,
The path leads to God,
Precisely, the path leads, provided one does not stray along the way, to the point where the encounter with God can take place.

God is not the path, God is not on the path,
The path can also delay the encounter.

Simple sitting contains the meeting point, the place on the mountaintop,
where breathes the Spirit.

One can be on the mountain without ever sitting for a single second in that place,
The flower of Zen is the guide that brings you to that point, in an instant,

The ten thousand practitioners encircle the mountain, wind their way along the steep paths, or fall asleep in the caves.

The first reason they do not reach that point is that they do not believe it is possible. What about merit?
What about the path?

There is a great injustice in their eyes.
Perhaps it is this belief, as well as the joy of having crossed it, that makes the Buddha and Mahakashyapa smile as they twirl the flower between their fingers.
And yet, on the trail, numerous signs describe the beyond the trail,

The outside of the path, as the ultimate point of the path,
But as long as the belief in the linearity of the progressive path exists,
these signs remain invisible to the eyes of pilgrims, invisible even to guides.

So they must pace, from landmark to refuge, the milestones of the path.

Their powerful beliefs in the reality of this path create dust beneath their feet as they advance. The arrival, the meeting point, is only found when belief ceases and the path disappears beneath their feet.

©FJ April 2025
Recueils / Participation/