The Real

Editor's Note: Originally written April 2016

The Real

You ask, what is Real?

I ask, do you have the courage to find out?

Do you have the relentlessness?

If you plunge your head in a river,
holding your breath, burning your lungs,
Do you want to know as badly
As you want that breath of air?

Can you tell what is Real?

Is it monkeys pounding on the metal roof,
Or the throbbing fear stalking from your limbs?

Will you find it below the defilements,
peeling back layer after layer,
like a snake molting its skin?

Do your nightmares not make you startled?

Do your fantasies not make you aroused?

Can you tell what is Real?

Restlessness or relaxation
Agitation or perseverance
Pain or purification

To know what will prevail,
Understand what is Real
And what is not