Edgar Allan Poe

A poem by the genius Edgar Allan Poe

A Dream Within a Dream

By Edgar Allan Poe

Take this kiss upon the brow!

And, in parting from you now,

Thus much let me avow —

You are not wrong, who deem

That my days have been a dream;

Yet if hope has flown away

In a night, or in a day,

In a vision, or in none,

Is it therefore the less gone? 

All that we see or seem

Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar

Of a surf-tormented shore,

And I hold within my hand

Grains of the golden sand —

How few! yet how they creep

Through my fingers to the deep,

While I weep — while I weep!

O God! Can I not grasp

Them with a tighter clasp?

O God! can I not save

One from the pitiless wave?

Is all that we see or seem

But a dream within a dream?

The final bit of a super film: The Raven (2012)

Alan Watts Koan

Alan Watts

One of my favourite koans, which I think Alan Watts once shared, could be called “The Monk That Farted.” It goes like this:

A junior monk is sprawled on a sofa reading sacred texts with his feet up. A senior monk walks by and rebukes him: “Straighten up! Show some respect when reading holy writings—sit properly in a chair.” The junior monk responds… by farting.

Beautifully absurd. And profound. Zen in action.

There are many recordings of some of the amazing and thought provoking talks online by Alan Watts, like this one:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/E8e7G8SOGEQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=591E6zqWqA8