The Bodhisatta Setaketu saw that the time had now come.After a nearly uncountable span in the Tusita Heaven awaiting his destiny, awaiting his return to the little blue planet so far below, how could he know that now was the time?Because, far below, man had begun once again to ask meaningful questions. Because nearly incessant war and slaughter had finally begun again to subside, and the northern part of the large Indian subcontinent now lay spent but peaceful after centuri...

I think of myself as Fennel, that is my name, but those in the white coats—researchers, they call themselves—refer to me as "120112A" after my birthday (the First of December, 2012). The "A" means that I was the first of the litter to be born (out of the gate, as it were) that day—my three siblings, emerging right after me—second, third, fourth—are known, in the same researcher dialect, as "120112B," "120112C," and "120112D" respectively.They, however, think of themselves as Unicor...

There are as many Gods in this universe as there are beings. And the game we play is called "Touch." It's a form of spiritual hugging. Easy to begin, pretty much impossible to bring to a close.How it came about: Before the beginning of the universe, before there even was a universe, we all held hands—well, figuratively speaking. We touched, I guess would describe it (hence the name of the game), and touching we synchronized, and synchronized we decided (on three, everyone: 1-2-3) t...

His grandfather was a cabinet maker. The rarely smiling old man who now had trouble walking and whose fingers struck the young boy as gnarled, helpless roots of some moving-about-the-house-with-difficulty tree.The grumpy old man who had trouble chewing most of his food for lack of teeth and who now and then drooled soup on his shirt at table and then pretended that he had not, even after mother would hand him a napkin, not even a thank you.This old man's name was Ljunge. It...

After much haggling and some give and take (the give mainly—actually, I'd go so far as to say exclusively—provided by God), He finally relented: "All right, all right," He said (twice—so four "all rights" in toto), all right (a fifth) we could leave if we wanted, if we really wanted. He sighed as he said this.This is how:Breathe out.For a full comfortable and thoughtless (as in no thoughts at all, not even a micro-one) sixty seconds do not breath in.Then do....

Spring was hard. The hardest. For this late in his life spring brought so many earlier springs to also touch him—a rush of them, each with a voice clearer than the next. Each singing faintly of promise, of rebirth, and not so faintly of fragrant and sunny mornings just above freezing but warming, warming, warming as the sun climbed well above the farmer's barn, huge and dark up there on the hill to the east.And in her tow, as she spread herself upon the northern earth: melting snow...

"You are not really here, are you?""Well," he said, pulling at his long beard with a gnarled little hand, small booted feet barely reaching the edge of the seat and showing dark leather soles scratched and patterned by years and miles, "that depends on who's looking."He didn't exist, of course."That would be me," I told the little mirage."Then I'm here," he said.No, could not be. Still, as if to humor my hallucination, I said, "Do you mind if I touch...

I turn over for what must be the tenth time in as many minutes. The ground here is uneven and greets every attempt at comfort with a new root, or a small rock, or a pebble, or a hollow. I cannot fall asleep; I cannot find the position that might allow me to. Or perhaps I have slept, perhaps I have stretched my legs a little on sleep's surface, I don't know, but I do know that now I am very much awake.So, back to the drawing board. I ease my way around again, slowly, aware of Rick n...

They say Jesus Kristus was untouched.You learn it in school, you hear it from parents, from grandparents—from them especially—from friends, and from preachers. You read it in the Bible: Jesus Kristus was the first to, and the only one ever to, escape, ascend, transcend, what have you, the Storm. He was the first ever to rise above it unscathed, as they like to put it on the late-night TV preacher-shows, especially now with a new Storm approaching, although unscathed means the same ...

I attempted suicide in 1965. I wasn't very good at it.For one, while I have since learned that the lethal dose of regular 75 mg aspirins lies on the far side of 500 tablets, I attempted my lethal feat with 121 of the little darlings (yes, I kept a tally).For two, I did lose my nerve late that fatal afternoon, and alerted my dad to my Bayeresque overindulgence.This is not to say that this was not an interesting exercise, it was. I was sincere in my banging on that da...

Then the old cobra rearranged himself on the stage, settling in for the telling. The three monkeys in white returned and sat down by his side.Beside us Mandar and Manini also sat down, easing into comfortable lotus. A restful silence now settled on the large hall.Then he began."Hanuman's oldest son was blessed with an outstanding memory. This is the story he told, and for which he in turned thanked the blessings of those many memories that had gone before him:

He knows that life is precious. He knows this like he knows that water is wet and that stars are distant—he's not sure how he knows, but he knows as he knows that life is not a given.But is also wonderful. Especially on nights like this. Is also hungry. Is also cold. Is also lonely. But magnificent. Is sometimes short, like his mother's. Is sometimes long, like his father's. Is sometimes always, like his own, tonight.Is sometimes vast and spectacular.Is sometimes wo...