“With the arrival of the beautiful autumn season, the waters in the lakes and rivers became as clear as crystal and filled with fragrant lotus flowers, and breezes blew very pleasantly. At that time Krsna entered the forest of Vrndavana with the cows and cowherd boys. Krsna was very much pleased with the atmosphere of the forest, where flowers bloomed and bees and drones hummed very jubilantly. While the birds, trees and plants were all looking very happy, Krsna, tending the cows and accompanied by Sri Balarama and the cowherd boys, began to vibrate His transcendental flute.”
KB 21: The Gopis Attracted by the Flute
“My zen is in the slow swinging tops of sixteen pine trees.
“One long thin pole of a tree fifty feet high swings in a wider arc than all the others and swings even when they are still.
“Hundreds of little elms springing up out of the dry ground under the pines.
“My watch among oak leaves. My T-shirt on the barbed wire fence and the wind sings in the bare wood.”
Thomas Merton. A Search for Solitude. Lawrence S. Cunningham, editor. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1996: 232.
“Sweet afternoon! Cool breezes and a clear sky!
“This day will not come again.
“The bulls lie under the tree in the corner of their field.
“Quiet afternoon! The blue hills, the day lilies in the wind. This day will not come again.”
Thomas Merton. Turning Toward the World. Victor A. Kramer, editor. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1997: 128.
