[DEMONSTRA] Idle Fears

In the shade of a Cali wat Lao I debate with Ajahn Anan
What the secret Rakshasa Sutra must really look like.

In Lao we call them Nyak or Yuk or Yak. It depends.
When they’re hungry, what do names matter?

I ask: “Does a zombie have Buddha nature?”

He informs me the mindless craving for brains
Complicates things.

He suspects Frankenstein’s Monster is closer to Nibbana
But don’t quote him on that.

An American werewolf in Luang Prabang
Would stand no chance against a real Lao weretiger.
Both should still try to observe the five precepts as best they can.

If he was going to make a special wat for robots
He might name it Wat Lao Robobuddharam

But they would surely have to learn
To get beyond artificial binary worldviews.

“You aren’t going to turn this into a poem, are you?”
He asks.

“That’s nothing to be afraid of,” I assure him.
“Usually.”

You can get a copy of DEMONSTRA through Innsmouth Free Press.