You may ask
about the true nature
of Buddha nature,
but who can you ask.
If you should meet
the Buddha
in a coffee shop,
perhaps you should ask
if the Buddha
has dog nature
A reflection on case 115 of Dogen’s Shobogenzo (True Dharma Eye) Koans
Koan
HOFUKU’s BLOCKING OF THE EYES
Do not pity the blind man
for he can see much,
and do not be sad for the deaf
for they can hear you.
Your eyes see nothing
your ears do not
discern the quietest sound.
Rest your mind and taste
the peace of blindness
and silence.
A reflection on Case 113 of Dogen’s Shobogenzo (True Dharma Eye) Koans
THREE WORDS ARE MIND
If you stare
at a large stone
and call it a mountain
the ant will agree with you.
If you gaze on a mountain
and call it a stone
there can be no argument.
If I call that tree
a toothpick
clean your teeth carefully.
A reflection on Case 112 of Dogen’s Shobogenzo (True Dharma Eye) Koans
REISHO’S BRIGHT AND CLEAR
As you stare
into the mirror
it is your reflection
you clearly see.
As the face
in the mirror
stares at you
it is its face
it sees reflected.
There is one face
and there are
a thousand faces.
A reflection on Case 88 of Dogen’s Shobogenzo (True Dharma Eye) Koans
Nansen’s Reason Is Not the Way 無門關 三十四 
If you see the Buddha
you have certainly gone blind,
if you hear his words
you demonstrate your deafness.
Nansen will grow old,
hearing and vision will fade
and he will sit and shout
in a sun warmed rain.
A reflection on Case 34 of the Mumonkan (Gateless Gate) Koans
Tozan’s Sixty Blows 無門關 十語
When you arrive
only questions, each
a finely honed blade.
Will you parry and dance
avoiding the wounding tip
and perhaps taste the sword
or risk all and counter-
thrust, attack from
ten directions
and willingly receive
sixty blows from the stick
standing in one place.
A reflection on Case 15 of the Mumonkan (Gateless Gate) Koans
Tokusan Holds His Bowls 無門關 十三 
Tokusan carries bowls
as though expecting a meal.
He is asked, “have
you been called, for
I have rung no bell.”
He returns to his room
in silent response.
You may say he retreated
in defeat, be he will have
the final answer.
A reflection on Case 13 of the Mumonkan (Gateless Gate) Koans
SEIGAN’S COST OF RICE
You may wander
endlessly in search
of the true dharma.
It is not under that rock,
not in those bushes,
not around the next bend.
Look down and ask
yourself where
are you standing
in this moment,
then gently lift
your feet off
of the heart
of the dharma
A reflection on case 5 of the Book of Equanimity koans.
DŌGO WON’T SAY 正法眼蔵 二十九
I am the life
of a hundred million others,
you are the life
of a hundred million others,
a hundred million others
are my life, a hundred million
others arise from my death.
How many hundred million
are the same?
None of them will say.
A reflection on Case 29 of the Shobogenzo (Dogen’s True Dharma Eye) Koans
Chu Gives Three Calls 無門關 十七
Three times the master’s question
three times the student’s response
each time, the same answer
each time the master shrinks
as answer surpasses question.
There is no master
there is no student
there is only the lamp
in two sets of hands.
A reflection on case 11 of the Mumonkan (Gateless Gate) koans.
an old writer and his words 