These kids of the Tathagata* are tigers!
Ferociously pouncing on the Path-Fruit** prey.
Living the wilderness of meditation as he taught,
Sorting out the branches of Satipatthana.***
Body, feeling, minds, and Dhamma —
These four are the territories in which tigers
Circle, stalk, and catch their prey,
Clutched securely in the paws of mindfulness.
Any tiger that gets sloppy with Satipatthana
Becomes a house cat, haven’t you seen.
The kittified tiger is gossipped all over,
Once the good name of “tiger” is lost in distractions.
* * *
* Tathagata: “One Thus Gone,” one who has realized thusness, Buddha. “Children of the Tathagata” traditionally refers to monks and nuns who have fully embarked within the Dhamma-Vinaya training.
** Magga-phala, fulfillment and fruition of the path
*** Establishments of mindfulness, the basic refuges for contemplative inquiry.
Accessed from: http://www.suanmokkh.org/poems