Desire dead, the soul like a polished mirror, reflects the Sun.
I am bad in arithmetic and suffer from poor memory.
I always forget to count my blessings.
My colleagues seem to earn more then I do.
I forget, I have free boarding and lodging with my mother.
I forget, I have two hands, two legs, two eyes and two ears in good shape.
I forget, my brother has created a job for me out of love.
I forget to look at others, the terrible hardship they have to face.
Long ago, in my childhood, a lady gave me a sound advice,
When you don’t have shoes, look at the poor devil without legs.
I forget to count my blessings even now years after.
Once I saw a miserable leper eating from a fine Chinese bowl,
With a spoon, for he had no fingers left in his hand.
Something greedy in me, envied the owner of the bowl.
I always forget to count my blessings, so poor is my memory.
I curse my luck by looking at my neighbour’s new car,
His new property, forgetting conveniently his broken back.
The Buddha found out two thousand years ago,
The root-cause of all our endless suffering, the enemy.
Desire is an unholy fire, never satisfied, grows fast
And burns our body and soul, gives us no respite even after death.
O Seeker of Truth, nothing material has a durable value.
Aspire for the Eternal, the highest blessings are immaterial, -
Peace, love, beauty and harmony, compassion, God’s infinity,
And above all, the constant Presence of the radiant Mother.
Desire dead, the soul like a polished mirror, reflects the Sun.
******
Niranjan Guha Roy 1995
