an old writer and his words

  • JIZO’S BUDDHISM 鐵笛倒吹 四十八

    In setting along the pathdo you follow Hofukucovering your eyes so asnot to see evil, ears so as not to hear itand close your mindto wandering ideasor is Jizo’s pathyours as well? With eyes shut tightthe mind will still see,with ears covered soundwill echo, growing louderwith no hope of escape.With open eyeslight is reflected, with…

    Lou Faber

  • AUDITIONS DAILY

    It should be easy, my friend said,to imagine yourself a characterin a novel you particularly like,like I’ve found myself in any numberof Tom Clancy novels, since I caneasily become a CIA agent, it fits me. I know I’d shoot myself in the footor worse, and I’d keep no secretsif you even threatened to torture me,and…

    Lou Faber

  • DAIJI’S INNER CULTURE 鐵笛倒吹 十語

    Eyes can look withinand discover a boundless universebut the tongue alonecan speak only soundsthat go falseas they dance away unseen. The silence of zazenspeaks the dharma,the teisho is offered mutely. The space betweeneye and tongueis but three inchesor an unbridgeable void. A reflection on Case 15 of the Iron Flute Koans.

    Lou Faber

  • A DEAFENING SILENCE

    Sitting in stillness, the silenceis at first shocking, deafeningin a way unimagined but there. Within the lack of sound liesa thousand sounds you hadnever heard in the din of life. You hear the young monk at Senso-jiapproach the great bell and pullback on the log shu-moku, straining. You hear the laugh of school agedchildren hand…

    Lou Faber

  • HAKUUN’S BLACK AND WHITE 鐵笛倒吹 十四

    Like Hakuunshun the city,flee the townsand find a homein the forest onlyin the deepest partof winter, butdo not shun peoplein your solitude. Write versesof total silenceand dig deeply intonewly fallen snow.Let it drift over youuntil you black hairis all that appearson an endless field of white. A reflection on case 14 of the Iron Flute…

    Lou Faber

  • TAIGEN FANS HIMSELF 正法眼蔵 三十二

    When a leaf leaves the treeit falls precisely where it should.When a flower petal is carriedoff on a strong wind itcomes to rest in the proper place.When you smell the sweet aromaof next summer’s rosesuse the nose you hadbefore your parents were born. A reflection on case 32 of Dogen’s Shobogenzo (The True Dharma Eye)…

    Lou Faber

  • KENSHO

    Tonight, if all goes well, I will bea monk in a good-sized Buddhist temple.I am hoping it will be in Nara,at Todai-ji perhaps, or Asakusaat Senso-ji, or better still somewherein Kyoto, although it might well bein the Myanmar jungle or somewheredeep within the Laotian highlands. One problem with that world isthat I have no control…

    Lou Faber

  • KASHYAPA’S FLAGPOLE 無門關 二十二

    Kashyapa’s golden robetake it up if you want. It won’t fit at all wellKnock down the flagpoleor, if you wantjust eat the flag. A reflection on case 22 of the Mumonkan (The Gateless Gate)

    Lou Faber

  • RUYGE’S ULTIMATE STAGE 鐵笛倒吹 二十八

    If you answer the questionI will ask you anothereach more difficult. If you enter a roomand catalog its contentsthere will always be a doorleading to yet another room,another inventory to be takento determine what is thereand what is missing. It is only when you enteran empty room,that you will find all things. A reflection on…

    Lou Faber

  • ISAN’S TIME 鐵笛倒吹 十六

    A cold dayhow many other winterscan you remember,how many future winterscan your mind grasp? Can you hold yesterdayin the palm of your handcan you wrap tomorrowaround your thumb? Between the palmsin gassholies all life and being. A reflection on case 16 of the Iron Flute Koans

    Lou Faber