THE MOTHER OF WISDOM by Adele Tomlin

The Mother of Wisdom

''No thing anywhere
is ever born from itself,
from something else,
from both or without a cause."

Nagarjuna - 'Root Verses on the Wisdom of the Middle Way'

For there to be a Birth-day
there must be a 'mother' and 'child' but who causes who to arise?

For something to be 'born'
there must be a 'cause'
but when does the 'seed' become the 'tree' ?

For the 'seed' to 'grow'
there must be 'conditions'
but when do the sun, earth and air become 'growing'?

For something to 'die'
there must be 'change'
but when does the 'change' become the 'death'?

For there to be 'objects'
there must be 'words'
but when did the 'words' become the 'objects''?

All I know is,
when I watch you sleep,
even the words 'love' and 'compassion' fall away; like countless tears from a billion mothers,
into a deep ocean of timeless peace.

Child, you are my guru
my suffering
my joy.
You gave birth to me, a mother 
and for that I am eternally grateful.

                     *   *   *

**This poem originally appeared in Tales from the Yoni Stone

and is now available for FREE DOWNLOAD here, from Dakini Publications**

Photo by Tatiana Syrikova (Photograph does not depict the author or her child)

Adele Tomlin is a writer, translator and has been a practitioner within the Tibetan Buddhist tradition since 2006. She has studied Tibetan language, Buddhist philosophy and has practiced in Buddhist monasteries and nunneries in India, Nepal and Europe. In 2020 she published a poetry collection, Tales from the Yoni Stone with Dakini Publications. She also produced a translation and critical edition of Taranatha's Commentary on the Heart Sutra (2017). Her poems are spiritual songs covering themes of gender, sexuality, love, spiritual discovery and awakening. 

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