On Vesak Day this year, I sat in meditation for two hours at home.  During the last half hour or so of my sitting, the full moon shined brightly on my face through my high window.  The moon light reflected around the metal rim of my glasses and, through slightly-open eyes, it was a truly beautiful sight.  I felt great joy.  More than usual, I mean.

The next day, during my sitting meditation, I found the mind more concentrated than usual.  Near the end of the sit, through the same high window, I noticed a lone star.  One, tiny, singular beautiful speck of light.

Inspired, I wrote this poem:

Sitting. Full moon shining on my face.
Smiling. Dharma shining in my heart.
Watching. A single star in the sky.
Knowing. A speck of wisdom in my mind.

And the Chinese version:

静坐，望月迎面容。
微笑，佛法照心头。
止观，孤星悬天空，
心会，菩提一点通。

(Yes, thanks to the beauty of the Chinese language, readers of Chinese may find subtleties not present in the English version.  For example,  止观 means “stop and see”, and it also means shamatha, which was my state of mind at the time.)