Raven 119: Vast Indeed

Continuing from the previous segment, in which Porcupine asked whether Zen had a moral basis, we now see Porcupine reflecting on immense vastness. Whatever we can conceive or imagine of the size and multifarious diversity of the world, it is actually much bigger than that -- we are much bigger than that. Also tiny (though I don't think that's why Porcupine wept).

Case

Porcupine came to see Raven after the talk that night and said, "The Blue Planet is immensely vast, isn't it!"
Raven said, "It doesn't stop there."
Porcupine wept.
Raven said, "Vast indeed. Vast indeed."

Verse

Himalayan mountains, your broken heart, bubonic plague.
Kalahari desert, maternal devotion, 100-year-old oak tree.
Sequoia National Forest, honor killings, birds in your vicinity right now.
Great Barrier Reef, all the Aprils of your life, bees and octopuses.
Yangtze River, lovers' ardor, the current pandemic
A million bereaved, a billion, everyone.
Monastic practice, householder practice, whole- and half-hearted practice.
Petty violence and genocidal wars and your lovingkindness.
Vastness never stops.
In the midst of it, something purple.

Case adapted from Robert Aitken; introduction and verse by Meredith Garmon

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