YOUR WORDS

Your Words is Mandala’s section devoted to the writers among us. Send us poetry, creative writing, short essays or letters that are inspired by your Buddhist practice and under 1200 words.

Please send your submissions to: michael@fpmt.org

By David Lista, Pelican Bay State Prison, California, USA

Peace happens

breath by breath,

moment to moment,

day by day,

born of the tiniest actions

which spread in compassionate ripples

becomes waves of loving kindness

washing across the face of our fragile planet,

cleansing humanity

of its anger, greed, violence,

delusion and hate.

Never underestimate

the power of a smile

or a kind word

on a cloudy day,

or the simple moment

it takes to recognize

another’s hurt or pain,

the infinite power

of simply caring

for another fellow being

with whom we share so much.

For, despite our differences,

the roads we travel

are all the same.

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