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LIGHT
The light always enters unseen, knowing without it nothing can be seen. Light sees the infinite green pallet arrayed on a single leaf, the complex hues of a rainbow painting the white wisps of morning clouds, the blaze red forehead of the moorhen patrolling the pond. Light will always willingly share its vision if we…
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TREACHERY
René Magritte was born and died in Belgium, neither happened on this day, but he painted a most realistic picture of a pipe, which he captioned “Ceci N’est Pas Une Pipe,” which of course it was not since it was only a picture of a pipe and he entitled the work The Treachery of Images.…
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ONE FLAVOR ZEN
How far must you wander to taste the pure essence, hear the pure note, see deeply into beauty, smell the first flower of spring, touch another heart? Will you grow tired from standing still in total silence contemplating this? A reflection on Shobogenzo Case 65 (Dogen’s True Dharma Eye)
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THE WATCHER
He stands transfixed on the bridge, arms outstretched, staring at the river always flowing slowly by below. He wears a garland of gold, an inscription in Hebrew, the holiest of holies, mocking those who hold him a man. Did he peer out of the corner of his eyes as they marched them across the bridge…
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SEKITO’S GREAT AND SMALL CANON 正法眼蔵 語十三
This wave touches the shore just as it should, that wave touches the shore just as it should. You may wait an eternity for a wave that touches but not as it should or you can sit and let the waves wash over you. A reflection on Case 53 of the Shobogenzo (Master Dogen”s True…
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RELATIVELY SPEAKING
“We created time,” he said, “so we are free to ignore it whenever we wish, don’t tell me that I am late, for that is only by your clock and you should know that most clocks are never right. It is only the stopped clock that is right, and that only twice each day.” We…
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WALKING
The entirety of this practice is to learn to walk with a lightness, so that you contact the earth, the grass, not tread on it, so that the earth and the grass caress your feet and not try to push them away, and all the while there must be a gentleness of breath so the…
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BODHI VILLANELLE
Sitting beneath the Bodhi tree I wrestle with passing thoughts in an unending struggle with me. The true face of the pain I see results from what I have wrought sitting beneath the Bodhi tree. I grow tired, wish to flee– above all, to avoid being caught in an unending struggle with me for a…
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SEPPO’S TURNING THE WHEEL 正法眼蔵 三十八
The wisest of men when asked at what time it is best to pursue the Way will answer: when a thousand stars have made their presence known. The wisest student will say: when cleaning myself by bathing in the mud. This will become clear to you when the frog consumes the dragon.
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an old writer and his words 