the buddha nature of diners
things know, & can even say, but we can't hear them. usually we are too busy with the sound of our own wheelspinning to hear much. everything is alive. & all beings have the buddha nature, even rocks. everyone except coyote. i read that in a gary snyder poem many years ago.
i sat in a diner, gazing at a creche set made of napkins & whatnot. a piece of what might have been chicken seemed to be jesus.
jesus, i thought, gazing down into that little snowy world. i wondered if the woman with the haunted eyes & the funny finger i passed on the way in made it.
i closed my eyes. it had been a long drive, a long life. i had always kind of counted on dying at around 44. now here i am 60. i left everything i knew a long time ago. i have a shack in utah. i read & i walk.
" open up your heart & let the sunshine in you old butthead,"--i heard someone say, quietly but clearly. i looked around. 4 old dudes finding fascination or something like it in what might be potatoes. a waitress staring at her nails.
"you heard me!" the voice said.
i stared at the baby chicken jesus.
" let's sing something!"
yes, it was coming from jesus.
i started to reply, coughed, & mumbled " like what?"
" well i have always enjoyed hark the herald myself. you start"
as i say, it had been a long drive, a long life. what do i have to lose now? if they take me to the loony bin maybe i can find someone who likes to talk to me.
so i started.
i had not sung for a long long time. my voice did not sound like my own.
" hark the herald angels sssinggg.."
everyone stared at me. i kept singing.
" you're doing fine," chicken jesus peeped.
i heard the smallest meatiest voice join mine.
& then the old fart over in the corner joined in. then the waitress. we all sang. we helped on the verses we didn't know that well. we laughed & we sang.
...................................
i have a shack right near the diner now. i help out with cars that break down & such. evelyn & i get along pretty good. & we make a kind of weird creche set every year. out of whatever is around. it is best to go with that.
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