What's the tea?
Happy Birthday Tom
October 18th, 2025
Happy Birthday Venerable
October 6th, 2025
The cost of my desire
It seems compelling,
by force,
finding a place acceptable,
Each time,
ignoring better judgment,
pursuit of momentary pleasure,
inevitably
degrades into clinging, craving, and longing,
alienated from women around me,
Pleasure is a worm
boring into the deep recesses of my mind,
Craving to continue
experiencing carnal intimacy.
This feeling I don’t want to let go of,
A certain ecstasy
A demanding appeal
The ego goads the body into action
Can I renounce something I hold in such high regard?
Why do I hold these forms in such high regard?
The appeal whispers
promises of relief from stress,
A momentary escape from worry
Suppression deepens urges
I know I can let it go,
But I always question,
Do I really want to?
Haunted by voracious apparitions
With vicious appetites
Dark ink spots
Blocking out the light
Stamp pressed impressions
Redacted sense reflections
Diminished mindful presence
A curse from adolescence
Almost two decades
Of decadent escapades
The pain of heartache
Makes medicine of arsenic
Pleasure becomes disease
Carnal fulfillment tease
Desire
A thread or string
Slowly unravels me
Stitched in incisions
Pulling apart to bleed
Burning as if branded
Thoughts not often managed
Converting man to savage
Feeding what is famished
Each “meal” dealing damage
Lust becoming lavish
Dwelling in the excess
Sexual mental excrement
Offer often not refused
Over time karma pays what is due
The price of lessons ensues
At the end of the day
It’s down to what I choose
Abuse of self
Neglect of health
Misconstrued sense of wealth
Knowing time takes a toll
A cost I can’t afford
I pray for strength from my Lords
A Poem by Maazy
https://www.instagram.com/stories/theamateurbandit/
Maazy
Stand Up Fight Back
Greetings sangha, a photo I submitted was featured in the Picture the Power exhibition. The exhibit will travel to other locations across Louisiana. I’m excited to share and celebrate the power of visual storytelling as a tool for social change with you all my sangha.
Deep bows,
Hasajaya
Jay Evans
16x20 | New Orleans, LA Digital Photography
a sangha sits in the seventh ward
eyes soft focused on freedom
a sangha sits in the seventh ward
i feel most like the buddha in the moments
after i laugh
face still creased
heart soft as a newborn
eyes softfocused on freedom
a sangha sits in the seventh ward
i feel most like i belong in the moments
when we cry
cheeks wet together
our suffering never just our own
eyes softfocused on freedom
a sangha sits in the seventh ward
i feel most liberated in the moments
i couldn’t have imagined
when i listened to my fear
making what can be from what isn’t
Katie Willis Evans
Smile to the cloud in your tea~Thich Nhat Hanh