Within the Flame

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              Within the flame of cosmic scale,
              a nebula beyond the vale
              of tears and fears and random mirth
              upon an azure planet earth,
              vast hosts of stars are setting sail.

              This great creative force all hail
              when tracing course of stellar trail,
              for ‘dust thou art’ in cloudy girth
              within the flame.

              Such sight stargazers can regale
              with more delight than ‘cakes and ale’
              and guide us to a sense of worth
              in spark of human death and birth
              as yet we write our living tale
              within the flame…


              ~ Harley White



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The poem is in the form of a rondeau…

Inspiration derived from image and article ~ Inside the Flame…

Further inspiration derived from the teachings and writings of Nichiren Daishōnin…

‘Now when Nichiren and his disciples chant Nam Myōhō Renge Kyō, they burn the firewood of earthly desires and behold the fire of enlightened wisdom.’
~ Nichiren Daishōnin (1222 – 1282)
(From: Gosho Zenshu, Ongi Kuden)

The reason that we continually recite Nam Myōhō Renge Kyō

Image explanation: The composite image shows one of the clusters, NGC 2024, which is found in the center of the so-called Flame Nebula about 1,400 light years from Earth. In this image, X-rays from Chandra are seen as purple, while infrared data from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope are colored red, green, and blue.

Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/PSU/K.Getman, E.Feigelson, M.Kuhn & the MYStIX team; Infrared:NASA/JPL-Caltech