On Misty Days

On misty days,
We cannot see much, except the beauty of the mist itself.
On misty days,
We cannot hear much, except the depth of silence.
On misty days,
We cannot feel much, except the sacred stillness.

On your departure, Thay, these beautiful misty days in Plum Village
are sending us deep silence and stillness.
Did you choose this day, Thay?
Or did Mother Earth choose it for you? Or choose for us?

You often reminded us that all seasons are beautiful.
If we can have silence within, silence from all the noise in our mind,
We can listen and enjoy all the wonders of life in every moment.

On your departure, Thay, you bathed our minds with deep silence,
So we can listen carefully to you, to your fullest being and eternal teachings.

We listen to our pain, grief and sadness.
As you said it is also your pain, grief and sadness.
We listen to your promise that you will return as soon as possible.
And yes, you have kept your promise,
As you said that you are not limited by your physical body.

Our pain, grief and sadness
have become an awakening force
To look attentively at
Your aspiration body,
Your Dharma body,
Your consciousness body,
Your compassionate body
To help countless people to suffer less.

We carefully collect all the beautiful seeds
That you have planted inside of us.
We want to keep them tightly so they won’t get lost.
We want to take care of them as a great treasure.
We want to grow them tirelessly
So we can bring you alive in every cell of our body.
In every step and every breath.

Only in this way,
Our pain, grief and sadness
are lessened and we can be at ease
and transformed into a source
of endless gratitude, love, and awakening.

Thank you, Thay