an old writer and his words

  • LOOKING

    As you look at him or herdo you see someone witha beauty you only wish you had,or someone you pityfor lacking your beauty? As they look at youdo they see someone witha beauty they only wish they hador someone they pityfor lacking their beauty? When I look at either of youI see a person like…

    Lou Faber

  • KYOSEI’S STICK 鐵笛倒吹 六十四

    If Kyosei asksfrom where I have comehow will I answer him?If he asks wheremy teacher liveswhat will I tell him? Such a fool I amto wander from there to herefrom here to another placeseeking a pathon which Iam always standing still.Thirty blows isthe least I deserve.But Kyosei withdrawsthe stick. A reflection on Case 64 of…

    Lou Faber

  • SIREN SONG

    I should stand on the shoretake up a great shelland blow a trumpet songto the whales who stayalways just beyond sight. I have no shoreon which to standand had I one, I lackthe skill to plucka song from a shelland so the whalesI imagine offshoremust listen carefullyto the song I castdeep within my dreams.

    Lou Faber

  • SUIBI’S MEANING

    If you ask how can one find the wayI will take youinto the gardento look at the roses.Each rose isof a different sizeand color, but whichis of the right sizeand which the right shade? A reflection on Case 71 of the Shobogenzo (Dogen’s True Dharma Eye)

    Lou Faber

  • DIALOGUE

    S:         What are you doing, for heaven sake?H:        Isn’t it obvious, I’m searchingfor Nirvana, for enlightenment.S:         You silly fool, it’s right behind you!H:        (turning suddenly) It is not,I would certainly see it.S:         You might think so, butit…

    Lou Faber

  • EXISTENCE

    I imagine I am the creatorI imagine I am the createdand I am the creatorand I am the createdI am both, I am neither. I exist because I think I existso I have created myself,just as you exist to me  becauseI think you exist, I am creator. I say I can touch you so youmust…

    Lou Faber

  • SEKISO’S SINGLE HAIR

    A thousand steps,one hundred thousand morealong the pathand the goalseems ever farther away. Stopand restin perfect stillness.You are there, it has walked with you. A reflection on Case 86 of the Shobogenzo (Dogen’s True Dharma Eye)

    Lou Faber

  • JOSHU’S DOG

    Joshu’s dogand Schrodinger’s cat-are they oneand the same?Leave the lidon the boxof the mind.What isthe half lifeof a thought? A reflection on Cse 114 of teh Shobogenzo (Dogne’s True Dharma Eye)

    Lou Faber

  • A STONES TOSS

    If you toss a stoneinto a placid pondthe ripples will washaway from the landing spotas so many small waves,and unseen, the areaof the pond’s surfacewill grow imperceptibly. If you toss a stoneinto an vast ocean,the ripples will washaway from the landing spotsmall unnoticed wavesand unseen, the areaof the ocean’s surfacewill grow imperceptibly. Ask  yourself now,whether…

    Lou Faber

  • DON’T MIND

    Both the great ape and the chimpanzeesay they have been horribly malignedby Buddhist teachers of all people. They point out that they have beenmeditating since the Buddha satbeneath the bodhi tree and was enlightened. They are capable of deep thought,are clearly as sentient as people, they claim with some evidence in support. Why is it, they…

    Lou Faber