….The two jointed petals of a small
Tooth-white clamshell stand ajar, and mimic
The opening of wings or of a songbook;
Leaves that a minute and obscure
Death sprung open in a depth of sea;
Held in one’s hand, they still present
The light obedient gesture that let go of time….
—Consider the Lillies of the Sea by Anne Porter
Abandoned, left on the shore of the ocean as the tide goes out, open and vulnerable.
And yet there is no tide, no ocean, no clamshell,
Only oneness.
The tide, the ocean, the clamshell,
Each the Buddha Dharma.
Changing, unchanging,
Teaching us of the vast ocean of emptiness,
Our true nature.