an old writer and his words

  • ON EASY STREET

    Driving to the car dealer yesterdayfor what I should have knownwould be expensive service, notbecause I hadn’t had my carserviced in over a year, simplybecause any trip to the dealerfor service is expensive, Q.E.D.,I drove by Easy Street. I thought of stopping, perhapslooking for a small houseto keep for the occasional getaway,I mean who doesn’t…

    Lou Faber

  • Atop the Pole 無門關 四十六

    Sitting atop a hundred foot poleyou are convinced there areonly two directions: pole and down.Old Osho asks, how will you proceedand you stare back at this lunatic.How will you proceed, he repeats? You release the polestep slowly away, lookingat ten directions before you,you move your feet, each onetouches the path of eachof the three worlds…

    Lou Faber

  • WAITING IMPATIENTLY

    Waiting rooms are usually somber.That is true of most hospitalsand every mortuary. It isn’t like we needto be prepared for whatmight happen next. In the hospital the surgeon,at the direction of lawyers,has given us the worst case. In the mortuary we are certainthe departed was no saintso resurrection is out of the picture. I’m not…

    Lou Faber

  • Bodhidharma’s Mind 無門關 四十一

    Walk slowly up to Bodhidharmabut do not pull him awayfrom the wall before which he sits.Keep your arms close about youlest you cannot graspwhat he will ask. Hold tight to your mndfor it will grow still onlyas it slips through your fingersWhen you see it fade awaySamadhi bathes you. A reflection on Case 41 of…

    Lou Faber

  • JOSHU’S CYPRUS TREE

    A young childdoes not ask for meaning,all things areas they areuntil they are not.The foolishness of agecauses men to starein search of meaningthey will never find.It is the blind manwho will find the diamond. A reflection on case 119 of Dogen’s Shobogenzo (True Dharma Eye) Koans

    Lou Faber

  • ADIOS, ARRIVADERCI, SO LONG

    As he grew ever older he saidhe wanted a sudden unanticipated death,“In my sleep preferably” he addedwith an unmeant chuckle. It would be a good way to go,I imagine, but it denies thosewho will most mourn his passingthe chance to hope for a miracle. And no matter when it happens,if it is sudden it will…

    Lou Faber

  • ISAN’S NO BUDDHA NATURE

    You may askabout the true natureof Buddha nature,but who can you ask.If you should meetthe Buddhain a coffee shop,perhaps you should askif the Buddhahas dog nature A reflection on case 115 of Dogen’s Shobogenzo (True Dharma Eye) Koans

    Lou Faber

  • HOFUKU’s BLOCKING OF THE EYES

    Do not pity the blind manfor he can see much,and do not be sad for the deaffor they can hear you.Your eyes see nothingyour ears do notdiscern the quietest sound.Rest your mind and tastethe peace of blindnessand silence. A reflection on Case 113 of Dogen’s Shobogenzo (True Dharma Eye) Koans

    Lou Faber

  • THE CLIMB

    Life should be a like a mountainalthough truth be told, weprefer it more like a prairieor at best a gentle, rolling hill. There is a challenge to climbing,hell maintaining a grip halfwayup most mountains, andthere are no maps, nowell worn paths, you justgo up until you cannotgo up higher then youfigure out how to come…

    Lou Faber

  • THREE WORDS ARE MIND

    If you stareat a large stoneand call it a mountainthe ant will agree with you.If you gaze on a mountainand call it a stonethere can be no argument.If I call that treea toothpickclean your teeth carefully. A reflection on Case 112 of Dogen’s Shobogenzo (True Dharma Eye) Koans

    Lou Faber