an old writer and his words

  • JOSHU’S WASH THE BOWL

    In the early morningwelcome the sun,as the day retreatswelcome the sun.When you are walkingalong the garden pathwhich foot is forwardand which footis behind? A reflection on case 67 of Dogen’s Shobogenzo (True Dharma Eye)

    Lou Faber

  • WHAT WOULD YOU SAY

    I am just wonderingwhat you would sayif you were calledto testify about allthat you had seen,all that had disgusted you,all that you condemnedbut did and saidnothing while it occurred.What would you sayif you had no choicebut truth, no shading,no mincing of words,just the harsh lightand you in a chairin an empty room,a disembodied voiceasking endless…

    Lou Faber

  • PRISONERS

    As we sitin the great metal tubewe imagine ourselvesbirds awaiting the freedomonly the sky offers. The clouds reach downswaddling us and werealize that we haveyet to fledge, likelynever will do so. Peering out the smallwindow, the earth shrinksand grows large again,and as we step out,the birds look at usand feel only pity.

    Lou Faber

  • GENSHA’S SEAMLESS STUPA

    If you pet a dragondoes it become a cat?If you make a cat roardoes it become a dragon?How highis over your head,how deepis beneath your feet.Build it just so. A reflection on Case 60 of Dogen’s Shobogenzo Koans (True Dharma Eye)

    Lou Faber

  • BUSINESS SUITS

    “What do you think is the likelihoodof success in the long run,” she asks,and I watch the fly land on my forearm,perched on hairs that barely bend under his inconsequential weight.His wings are a perpetual twitch,almost unseen, and felt only as a faintbreeze in my imagination, while a world is created, a reality collapses, a…

    Lou Faber

  • SHOPPING

    One of the hidden joysof being a vegetarian is thatfor us the grocery store issmaller than it is for many. There is no meat counterto visit, no butcher to engage,and the smell of fish isweaker at even a small distance. I do eat cheese, but notthe sliced sort at the delicounter, I don’t want cheeseshaved…

    Lou Faber

  • HIMAGAN’S PITCHFORK

    If you go in searchof the way, youmay come across a sage.He will ask youwhy you seek it.If you answer,he will strikea deadly blow,if you do not answerhe will strikea deadly blow.Grasp his armsand carry himwith you. A reflection on Case 73 of the Shobogenzo (True Dharma Eye) Koans

    Lou Faber

  • PAUSE

    The world ended yesterdayjust as predicted, and thenrestarted, and nothing at allseemed to change yeteverything was slightlydifferent, a little askew. I noticed it, although no onearound me detected it,went about their dayas though nothing happened. The preachers didn’t foreseeit coming, hadn’t predicted it,glad when the restart did notsignal the end of days, for theywere no…

    Lou Faber

  • NO BOIL

    Not so much watchedas casually gazed at, andnot a pot but a smartphone,which had best not boil. No ring, not this daylost in what, an absentmind, thoughts of self,not unexpected but wanted. Distance real becomesdistance virtual, emptylater explained, wordsof apology, forgiveness but a lingering scar thatwill recede, reappearthat laughter may coverbut never fully erase.

    Lou Faber

  • FACING

    The face in the mirrorwas surprisingly older today,and I can’t imagine that Iwill ever look that old,at least not for quite some time. I wanted to ask him howhe had aged so badly, but knewthat it would be bad mannersto comment on his appearance,so I smiled and he in returm. I suppose one day I…

    Lou Faber