Siddhartha Transformed by Portia Choi Siddhartha in lotus repose, palms touching in mind and heart, soles raised in gratitude. He was breathing with his brother, the bodhi tree. He inhaled morsels of wisdom, and exhaled the encumbrances of his past – castle, wife, feasts – memories evaporating like a mist. He lived the rock years of self-denial and hunger- only sitting and breathing: seldom eating or thinking. With each breath, he emptied his mind of delusions; breathing in sparks of Truth. One breath then another breath, continuing for years and years. In time, Siddhartha’s orange garment covered a being of light. Its energy oozing from all his pores that flowed upward into a cosmic Oneness. His mind opened. He became Buddha to serve, to heal and free “all beings from suffering.”
Portia Choi published a chapbook of her poems Sungsook, Korean War Poems. At Writers of Kern meetings, Choi met Helen Shanley and MaryLou Romagno who became good friends and mentors. Choi hosts First Friday Open Mic and publicizes National Poetry Month in April. She administers www.kernpoetry.com. Contact Choi [email protected].
