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QUANTUM
The universe is both enormously vast, measurable only in metaphor – and so infinitesimally small, it is an idea that would fit in the corner of a grain of sand. As you walk the beach grasp universes between your toes and kick them into the tide of the cosmos.
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THE FLUTE PLAYER PLAYS ON
HYAKUREI’S ATTAINMENT 鐵笛倒吹 四 Sitting with a monk at the feet of the master when his mouth opens what will you hear? If you both see a sudden light will you say something when asked? Walk slowly away from questions and keep your answers tucked away in your straw hat and lit all be…
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ACROSS THE ABYSS
The gulf between dream and nightmare is easily bridged in a single step. It should not be a step taken lightly, but one taken in both directions. We coddle dreams, dread nightmares, but we tell them apart on a level neither they nor we can hope to understand. Both are reality. Neither is reality. And…
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SENBAZURU
The crane stands placidly staring through the window as we earnestly attempt to imitate him, hoping he will honor the effort and not the result. The Master is graceful and we far less so, and out of the corner of my eye I see what could be smile, but could be derision as well, and…
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THREE NOTES FROM THE IRON FLUTE
MANJUSHRI ENTERS THE GATE 鐵笛倒吹 一 Like Manjushri, stand still outside the gate and listen for the call of Buddha from within. When he calls, answer but is Buddha inside and you without? There is nothing at all to see, and the gate has fallen from its hinges so answer yourself carefully. …
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INTERSTICES
In the interstitial moment between birth and death a universe comes into existence, something that never before existed and existed always, new and well-known, unseen and visible for eternity. Measure it well for it is incapable of measurement, and ends without warning and precisely on schedule. In the momentary breath that marks the transit, we…
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UNEQUINOX
A robin is slowly building her nest. She sits on one of the higher branches of our still winter-naked maple. She anxiously tucks small twigs, weaving the impenetrable. Each time I walk beneath she sits up and chides me. She is an expert in propriety. My lover and I walk down a rutted path, grasses…
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STANDING AT THE GATE: REFLECTIONS ON THE MUMONKON
Joshu’s Dog 無門關 一 There is no question nor dog nor Buddha-nature. There is no thing In the far corner Joshu barks loudly. Hyakujo’s Fox 無門關 二 The old, crippled fox crawled slowly from the mouth of the dark cave. Sidling up to Hayakujo the old monk said to fox, “think…
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Hiatus
It was, simply, the strangest summer of his life. He didn’t go home between semesters, as he agreed he would when his parents agreed to pay for college. Their marriage was quickly unravelling and each frayed thread was a live wire that threatened to burn anyone it touched, and he needed none of that. Years…
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Dialogue
S: What are you doing, for heaven sake? H: Isn’t it obvious, I’m searching for Nirvana, for enlightenment. S: You silly fool, it’s right behind you! H: (turning suddenly) It is not, I would certainly see it. S: You might think so, but it is still right behind you! H:…
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an old writer and his words 