an old writer and his words

  • AT THE TEMPLE

    The Buddhist priest in golden robes rocks gently to and fro, chanting from the prayer cards over the din of the flea market swirling around him, The faithful stand with heads bowed, as the stone Buddha draped in red and gold nods his approval

    Lou Faber

  • A DRY GARDEN LAUGHING

    In the heart of Nara Park there is a five story pagoda. Deer appear, standing sentinel along the lantern lined walk. Up the unseen hill the Temple bell announces the full arrival of morning as the Golden Buddha awakens. Young children can see all of this through eyes unlensed, and fetter free. They watch clouds…

    Lou Faber

  • ANGELIC

    The Buddha said we could all sit comfortably on the head of a pin in perfect knowledge and you would never see us, but if we danced, our music would deafen you.

    Lou Faber

  • CHONGDONG MARKET

    I Little old woman sits cross legged on a faded cushion. She nods as we enter and touch the ancient chest. She rocks slowly in place, older than the ancient stone carving guarding her doorway.   II In the narrow, dingy hall giant pots nestle against stone carvings. A fat Buddha smiles at a rice…

    Lou Faber

  • HEAVEN

    Joseph said he once met an angel on the bullet train between Osaka and Tokyo. I asked him if her wings were feathered, he said “no, it was her smile” and it was gossamer. Joseph said they spoke only briefly, she through long black hair, in Japanese, he in his only language, English. She was…

    Lou Faber

  • THREE TOKYO SCENES

    Scene I Just off Shinjukuchuokoen North, nestled in the courtyard of the Green Tower, hides Jyoufuji Temple, serene in the first light of morning, the sun dancing off the ceremonial bell its striker poised, as if waiting to catch the wind and to it sing its resonant song. Inside, the prayer mats await the first…

    Lou Faber

  • NIGHT PASSING, MORNING REINCARNATE

    The Buddha died peacefully in his sleep last night in the Emergency Room of Cook County Hospital, his passing was noted by a surgical resident passing by the partially drawn curtain en route to the Doctor’s Lounge after two hours of meatball surgery on a young man with multiple gunshot wounds who bled out anyway…

    Lou Faber

  • THE SEA

    Sitting on the shore, I asked the sea to tell me of life.  The sea said the sky             was a hungry suitor             always trying to devour her.  The sea said doves             no longer lived             atop the mountains.  The sea said men             embraced wars             because they feared love.  The sea…

    Lou Faber

  • CHAPERONE

    There are three ducks on the pond, two female, one male, and none says anything that is remotely profound. Half a world away, a man carefully parks a truck at the edge of a crowded Baghdad market and walks quickly away. Three ducks swim side by side by side around the pond, every now and…

    Lou Faber

  • THE BUDDHIST TEMPLE AT NARA

    On the steps of the Temple the unexpected morning snow which cast a threadbare blanket over the gates and lanterns recedes slowly like a supplicant whose prayers have been offered. The candle flames shiver in the strong February wind while the Buddha sits, implacable. In the park below a dragon kite takes the wind and…

    Lou Faber