Faithful Doubter

( Collapse )

When I meet a monk,
          I bow politely.
When I see a Buddha,
          I don't.

If I bow to a Buddha,
          the Buddha won't know.
But I honor a monk:
          he's here now, apparently,
          or, at least, he seems to be.


-- from I Don't Bow to Buddhas: Selected Poems of Yuan Mei, Translated by J. P. Seaton
Poetry Chaikhana | Yuan Mei - Motto

I was oldest of five, the only non-twin, and the only one adopted. Since my childhood and home life memories are almost totally blank, i have no idea how birth order affected my personality. People say it does so it possibly does.