George Herbert is a poet I admire, and the verse here, “A man may look on glass…” describes so well my experience of being able to see the world in a different way through vipashyana meditation, that I have transliterated the whole poem / hymn into Buddhist language. Specifically, since he is referring to God, I have taken that as Buddha Nature, the Truth of our undefiled nature. This is the “Heart of Awakening” which propels us towards the Truth, and which when fully Awoken is revealed as our Buddhahood.
This is more than just a quality of our human form or our mind, it is the nature of the universe. To see this would be considered a high view, the result of profound insight, but we can at least take our heart, our beingness, as having the potential to Awaken, with the intrinsic orientation of Bodhicitta (the wish for the ultimate benefit of Awakening for all beings).
The Elixir by George Herbert / Five
Teach me, Heart of Awakening,
in all things Thee to see,
so what I do in anything,
I do it as for Thee.
Not blindly, as a beast,
to blunder into action,
but tranquil, and with mindfulness,
to give it this perfection.
A man that looks on glass,
on it may stay his eye;
or if he pleases, through it pass,
and then the Truth espy.
We all may this elixir take:
nothing is so mean
which, transformed for Awakening’s sake,
will not grow bright and clean.
Who serves with this amrita
makes drudgery divine:
to work from Bodhicitta
will every act refine.
This is the famous Midas touch
that turneth all to gold:
our nature as a Buddha – such
cannot for less be told.
(amrita: nectar, the precious Dharma, or Truth)
(vipashyana: “insight meditation” lha-tong)
Pieces of Five 
Dear Five I like this very much. I loved George Herbert’s poems when I was at school and it is years since I read them now. It is delicately and sensitively done. Recently I read a version of the Lord’s Prayer translated from Aramaic with a more progressive or universal feel to it. Lovely. Can’t find it now though! Take care, Osel xx
LikeLike
Do tell me if you find it. Amazing how George Herbert has left his mark in our minds and memories.
LikeLike
great – though I found myself wanting to sing it and the words don’t fit the familiar hymn tune (Sandys, apparently)
LikeLike
Ah, I didn’t try singing it… there’s a challenge!
LikeLike
Thanks Five, this is lovely. I will hold the sense of making ”drudgery divine’ and golden with the Midas Touch of Bodhicitta.
LikeLike