Mandala Poem by Theresa Haffner

Unto all things give the opposite.
Unto joy give sorrow. To happiness give regret.
Unto laughter give tears. In time of mourning,
rejoice.

For what has a beginning also has an ending.
And no thing can exist without its opposite.
For nothing can exist alone and everlasting.

Contemplate each moment with a meditation
of its opposite.

As surely as light creates shadow,
the one brings forth the other
and each will be followed by the other.
Thus happiness will end in sadness
and the end of suffering is relief.

Surround the old and elderly
with youth and young children.

Death is healed by sex.
When a loved one dies,
celebrate by making love.

Moderate pain with pleasure. Grief with humor.
Piety with insanctimony. Modesty with ribaldry.

In wealth, remember hardship by going without
a luxury.
In poverty, reward yourself with whatever
luxury you can afford.

On the day of your marriage,
contemplate the price of the divorce.

Thus, on the occasion of moving into her
new apartment,

she wept.