Photography as Meditation: The Friday Flower. Sometimes just photos. Sometimes with writing. Appearing on Fridays.
untitled © 2009 - 2010 Mahala Mazerov
May all beings everywhere
Plagued by sufferings of body and mind
Obtain an ocean of happiness and joy
By virtue of my merits.
May no living creature suffer,
Commit evil or ever fall ill.
May no one be afraid or belittled,
With a mind weighed down by depression.
May the blind see forms,
And the deaf hear sounds.
May those whose bodies are worn with toil
Be restored on finding repose.
May the naked find clothing,
The hungry find food;
May the thirsty find water
And delicious drinks.
May the poor find wealth,
Those weak with sorrow find joy;
May the forlorn find hope,
Constant happiness and prosperity.
May there be timely rains
And bountiful harvests;
May all medicine be effective
And wholesome prayers bear fruit.
May all who are sick and ill
Quickly be freed from their ailments.
Whatever diseases there are in the world,
May they never occur again.
May the frightened cease to be afraid
And those bound be freed;
May the powerless find power
And may people think of benefiting each other.
One of countless exquisite prayers by Shantideva, 8th century poet, scholar, and bodhisattva.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
mahala ~
powerful…beautiful..compassionate…you.
the purple in this photo exudes the power of compassion beyond words…keep em coming!
hazel
you have been in my heart and mind as of late…hope you are well and warm my friend.
hazel colditz´s last blog ..workin it…still stoked!
Hazel dear ~ thank you for your unceasing kindness and support. I hope I’ll be seeing more of your photography project soon.
I am happily preparing to see Rinpoche.
I’ve been thinking of you, too. I definitely want to get back to our phone visits after the teachings. In the meantime, much love to you.
So beautiful! Thank you for sharing this. I’d never heard of Shantideva, and now I must go learn…
emma´s last blog ..In Praise of Veggies
Emma, you are so welcome. You must check out Shantideva! His writing is soul-stirring and never fails to return you to your highest and best purpose.
Shantideva is perhaps best know for his Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life. Vesna and Alan Wallace have a wonderful translation. Pema Chodron has one, too. Hers is called No Time To Lose. (It’s more of a commentary than a direct translation.)
Happy exploring!
thank you so much for this! it’s just lovely.
stacey´s last blog ..More Yoga. More You.
I’m so happy you liked it, Stacey. Thank you for taking the time to comment.
Mahala, Your photography once again stuns me into silence. The prayer flows beautifully with it. amazing, isn’t it, how Shantideva still touches and inspires us?
Hope your weekend is beautiful and overflowing with light of the sun.
carolyn, laughing yogini´s last blog ..Clean Up Your Act with Shauca
Carolyn ~ Thank you so much for your words about my photography. A friend is pushing me to start offering prints for sale. Every kind word gets me closer to believing it’s something I want to do.
Shantideva. What a wonderful time we are born in to have his wisdom and poetry with us!
“overflowing with light of the sun.” We actually had sun in Ithaca today. It was marvelous. I hope we shared it with your environs. Happy weekend to you.