ONCe, in the MORNing of WaKefuLNess, he arose aNd RaiseD his VoiCe, sAying: Listen to me and Know that one day you will attaiN immeasuraBLe smarts the likes of which wiLL amaZe you and which wiLL be PuRe and VAst, but, onLy if you caLM DoWn youRseLf and Press your PaLMs togetheR and iMaGiNe YourSeLf in the forest uP around Bugarach, the Sacred MouNting where you will be lucky eNough to exPerience the ReaL AsPect and finaLLy enteR into the DeeP CoNCeNtRAtioN while grooving on the flight of the SoARing eagLes who rise on the bReath of the buddhas of the TeN DirecTioNS, aLL of WhoM (eVen the SoaRing Birds) haVe GoLDeN BoDieS AdorneD with at Least a hunDred AusPiCiouS MaRKS: GLoRY! And you (And they) wiLL haVe Such PLeasaNt DreAMS of the terraCe of ENLighteNment where you will (aLL of you) sit oN the LioN Seat uNder the fLoWeRiNg Chataigne tree and Seek the truTh foR, oh, SeVen dAyS before RiSing up in the Morning at the diM enLightenment of a RoseY DAWn and get on with TuRNing that WheeL of the DhaRMa after having attained the highest Path.
Maybe it wiLL Be LiKe unto the tiMe Y’aLL tooK a ride on the GreyhouNd aLL the Way over to Biloxi and WandereD doWn the broaD fLat sTrand to EMeRalD Beach Where you encountereD the true and incorrupTiBLe RePReSeNtationS of the DhaRMa which SaveS innuMeRabLe Sentient Beings who wiLL Later enteR themseLVeS iNto NirVaNa just as SMoKe dies away when the fLame of a CAndLe is extiNguiSheD, of this rest ASSuReD and that if anyOne iN these troubled TiMes or iN the Much-troubled WORLD to CoMe setS out on the Great VoyaGe & JOURNeY to Teach the DhaRMa to the WReckeRs & RouSers aLong the EMeRaLD Beach, they wiLL DiscoVer that il n’exite plus, that it aiNt theRe No More cause, LiKe the FAMouS Lute, it haS beeN SpLit into TEN PieCeS, a huNdReD PieCes and theN ShaVeD iNto SPliNteRS and burneD in a fiRe—after being burned in a fire, it has been reduceD to ashes. Once reduced to AsheS, it has beeN winnoWeD befoRe the high Winds of a hurricaNe & washeD aWAY iN the StormTide So that the SeeKeR SAYS: This is oNe SoRRy MeSS, this EMeRalD Beach—whateveR a Spectacle may bE, by which the people have beeN so thoroughLy TRicKeD and deceiVeD into being Self and “me.”
Text and collage drawing by R Young, June 15, 2019. Theme drawn from the Eagle Sutra and other Buddhist texts with liberal interpretation in light of journeys to the Gulf Coast and Mount Bugarach.
Photographs from a proof sheet of Leica M3 analog photographs by DC Young, c. 1985.
studio arago 