an old writer and his words

  • MEOW

    Again today I am inside this so calledbox, unchanged perhaps, but whois to say, not you, still Schrodinger’s cat. Don’t bother to ask if I am deador alive, for like the Master Daowu, youcan bet that I won’t say, so there. And do not assume I know what I am,for if I were dead, I’d…

    Lou Faber

  • ANSWER SWIFTLY

    The question you will be called uponto answer requires careful thought,but you will be forced to respond. Would you rather live the restof your life in Lilliput or Brobdingnab? It may seem rather silly, for neitheris likely to occur, but that is not the pointand you cannot avoid responding. Of course you will have to…

    Lou Faber

  • SPACED OUT

    The question you must answer,and the one question I am certainyou cannot answer correctly is this: Does space define usor do we define space? Hints, of course, abound but we,myself included, fail or choosenot to see them or outright deny them. We are all comfortable at home,the adventurous among us declarethat wherever they are is…

    Lou Faber

  • UTEKI ASKS BUDDHA 鐵笛倒吹 四十語

    While out for a walkon a sun filled Spring dayif you happen across the Buddhahow will you recognize him? If you offer gasshoto Buddha surelyit will be returned, butis it he or merelyyour reflection offthe surface of a still pond?Does this matter to you? A reflection on case 45 of the Iron Flute Koans

    Lou Faber

  • NATURE REMINDS

    Last night, all the romanticcomedies worth watchingon Amazon and Netflix havingalready been seen, many twice we had no choice but to optfor a coming of age tale on Netflixaccompanied by the mellifluoustones of Sir David Attenborough. In my dreams last night there wasa debate between the Gentooand Emperor Penguins as to whichwas the more enrapturing,…

    Lou Faber

  • SOMETHING NEW

    When I was a child, my motherrepeatedly told me that I mustlearn something new each day. I knew better than to point outthat it was absurd to callfor novel behavior by repetition. So I took the path of least resistanceand each day grabbed a randomvolume of the World Book Encyclopedia, opened to any page and…

    Lou Faber

  • HEAVEN, ONLY SLIGHTLY OUT OF REACH

    God is fixed in the firmamentseen as puppet master by somepatrician uncle, small childendlessly shifting blocksin new, transitory universes.All things recede from a point,have since the creationand that point, dimensionlessis God, vast and infinite.It swings lazily, back, fortha needle in its cusp tracinglines in the bed of sandin constant motion as weand earth, and all…

    Lou Faber

  • CENTER SEAT

    My friends have often wondered aloudwhy I claim to be most creative whenI am stuck on an airplane for hours. I have told them that the solitude,the lack of It is an interesting quirkof the internet, that birthand death are disconnected. Seeking out those born todayI found a long list, the dinosauramong which is Judy…

    Lou Faber

  • FREEZE FRAME

    When you see a photograph of a dropof water hitting a still pond, you realizethat it is nothing at all like what you see. The photo freezes time, and that is whywe are so taken, for we want nothing morethan to slow or stop that unerring arrow for we know all too well where its…

    Lou Faber

  • Joshu’s Oak 無門關 三十七

    Look out of the windowthe garden is barrenof oaks, nor is thisa Temple in China. If you listen carefullya thousand branchesbend quietly in the wind,a simple wave washingoak leaves ontoexpectant soil. A reflection on case 37 of the Mumonkan (Gateless Gate)

    Lou Faber