These few words
gathered neatly on a scrap
of simple paper,
what do you call it?
Answer carefully for you response
may carry the keys
to the doors of Mount Tai-i.
Better still, upend
the water bottle, watch
the ink and water form
a gentle pool into which
no pebble drops.
A reflection on Case 40 of the Mumonkan (The Gateless Gate)
If you come before Master Nansen,
will you come holding the posture
of a monk or a lay person,
and when Nansen turns you away,
how will you exit the room?
Nested hands
and gassho hands –
both are so easily manacled –
why leave the room at all?
A reflection on case 44 of the Iron Flute (Tetteki tōsui 鐵笛倒吹)
She sits undisturbed
Shakyamuni by her side.
You can wave at her, she
will pay you no mind.
You cannot grasp her mind
and maintain a hold
on your own, you will grow
deaf from the chatter
but a child can curl
at her feet and she
will stroke his forehead
in perfect Samadhi.
A reflection on Case 42 of the Mumonkan (Gateless Gate)
Do not suggest
you can only be enlightened
on a cold day in hell
unless you are prepared
to carry the air conditioner
across the River Styx.
Even Cerberus
has Buddha nature
although none
of the heads will say so.
How far must you wander
to taste the pure essence,
hear the pure note,
see deeply into beauty,
smell the first flower of spring,
touch another heart?
Will you grow tired
from standing still
in total silence
contemplating this?
A reflection on Shobogenzo Case 65 (Dogen’s True Dharma Eye)
This wave touches the shore
just as it should,
that wave touches the shore
just as it should.
You may wait
an eternity
for a wave that touches
but not as it should
or you can sit
and let the waves
wash over you.
A reflection on Case 53 of the Shobogenzo (Master Dogen”s True Dharma Eye)
The wisest of men
when asked at what time
it is best to pursue the Way
will answer: when a thousand stars
have made their presence known.
The wisest student will say:
when cleaning myself
by bathing in the mud.
This will become clear
to you when the frog
consumes the dragon.
