Short Breaths, Long Breaths

I sit breathing, feel the breaths in and out, know the breaths long and short, wish the peace for heaven and earth, wish for soothing seasons of rain and wind, and wish for all to have enough food and clothing. I sit breathing, feel the breaths short and long, know the breaths in and out, spread the breaths through my sitting body, and see me sit with me sitting. I sit breathing, feel the breaths long and short, see some breaths out short and some in long, wish the peace for heaven and earth, wish for soothing seasons of rain and wind, and wish for moms and sisters and brothers to have food and clothing. With tears in eyes and heavy karma on shoulders, I sit breathing... I stand breathing, and breathing I stand. Feeling the breaths short, I know the breaths short; feeling the breaths long, I know the breaths long. I see that all the springs, summers, autumns, and winters are hiding in my breaths. This breath is long, carrying a warm spring; the next is short, rushing the summer sun. My body moves along with short and long breaths, carries away the sorrow of autumn’s falling leaves, and soaks in the chilly breeze of winter amid which we shiver and miss each other. Breathing I stand and feel the breaths in and out, and wish the peace every day for the world, and wish for all children to have their happy schooldays... Breathing in me is the vastness of heaven and earth, where the breaths flow in and out and short and long, where the clouds fly in my lungs, where the wind blows past my lips, where the forest clatters in front of my eyebrows, where the sea whistles along with the short and long breaths, and where the ocean rages through my rushing breaths. I sit, I stand, I walk, I lie, I run and I feel breathing in me the surprise of heaven and earth, where the trees and the hills stand for me and for mom and for you, where the Tibetan forest whistles for thousands of years, and where the wind still echoes the songs that Lao Tzu tapped on the ox horn. Breathing I feel the breaths short and long, and wish the peace for heaven and earth, and wish for all children to have enough food every day... Breathing I feel the long and short breaths; breathing I feel the short and long breaths -- seeing the red breaths, seeing the blue breaths, seeing the yellow breaths, seeing the black breaths, and wishing for the world’s suffering to soak into the breaths. Thus I sit and endure the world’s suffering; thus I stand and endure for that you and mom and sisters and brothers would be peaceful. not a self I see; I see not a self. only breathing, only the breaths... By Phan Tan Hai