The Lotus Cross is the symbol of the St. Thomas churches of India (e.g., the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church). It's also known as the Mar Thoma Sliva (St. Thomas Cross), the Persian Cross, or the Nasrani Cross. On the third poem, Samantabhadra in certain Tibetan Buddhist traditions is the primordial Buddha (Adi-Buddha), the Buddha in all things, and is indeed often depicted as blue and naked, symbolizing purity and clarity like the cloudless sky.
Lotus Cross
His feet are on the lotus,
holy, holy, holy;
the sunrise blazes brightly
beneath His feet.
Nectar and ambrosia,
holy, holy, holy,
he gives for endless life
in lordly dish.
His name is sure salvation,
holy, holy, holy,
health and consecration
in word, deed, thought.
Night Life
The night is treading softly like a cat upon a wall.
The stars are cloud-encompassed. The breeze is growing chill.
All seems at rest, but all things flow with steady, silent pace to hidden goal.
Night is full of shifting life; it is no grave,
but seminary rich with seeds that seek to live;
it is a boundless heaven full of things that yearn to love.
Naked Blue Buddha
The sky is blue and clear
but not so blue and clear
as Samantabhadra;
blue on a lotus floating,
clear as the body of truth,
naked of adornment,
for he needs no further adornment,
for the source is but the source,
expansive and unchanging.
Have you met the primal Buddha?
You have and you have not.
A long voyage is required,
an infinitely long voyage,
to move not a single step;
not outside but inside
is the never-ending journey
in which the quest's bright end
is never far away.
For at the end of the seeking
on a lotus pure and still
you will meet the naked Buddha,
and discover that you are he.
Have you met the primal Buddha?
You are the primal Buddha.
You have and have not met him,
hidden and bright and clear.
Words and Fire
fire leaps bright
words also leap
woods burn quickly
spirits also burn
heat boils rivers
light devours night
words also blaze
spirits also blaze
