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ZAZEN
It does nothing, sits there, immobile and this deeply frustrates you. Things are not supposed to be absolutely still, some motion, however small is required. You stare at it, hoping it will move, will shake or lift, or even settle lower but it does nothing. You sit and stare in growing anger absolutely still doing…
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HUANG PO’S GOBBLERS OF DREGS
The old monk, leaning on his cane smiled at the man prostrating himself before the great Buddha repeatedly. The monk gently interrupted the man, “what is it you hope to achieve by all of these prostrations, you clearly are seeking something, you clearly have not found what you are seeking.” “I am seeking the wisdom…
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QUARTET (HAIKU)
pond’s surface ripples each following another stone hidden from sight the old monk listens to the song of the passing breeze stars sing the refrain Buddha walks the road ignoring all around him each finds a teacher a circular path will take you nowhere quickly again and again
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PROGRESSION
It is between the pushing away in the pulling back that it happens. It is there that the seasons progress, one to the next. Winter cedes to spring and is, ever reluctantly, replaced by summer. It is there, as well, that the leaf emerges from the bud and reaches into the sky. And feeling the…
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PACIFYING THE MIND OF THE SECOND PATRIARCH
Sitting on the cushion staring at the wall yet again, the wall seems familiar, as if you should know it, the paint, the fleck of something embedded in the paint. Still you search for something beyond the wall, hidden by the paint, but you find nothing, always nothing. Does this nothing finding frustrate you? Are…
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TEN DIRECTIONS
It would help, she said, if you would stop thinking of yourself as Sisyphus and all of life as the rock. You might actually, one day, begin to enjoy what you do. It would help, he said, if I could be like a great blue heron, grow wings and take to a summer sky leaving…
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THEOI HALIOI ARE NOT HAPPY
For reasons no one can explain, we have always assumed the gods of the sea have it in for us, witness shipwrecks and storms, and the too occasional tsunami. We assume they are a petulant lot, given to fits of pique and with a means of expression of that pique certainly denied to mere mortals.…
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TS’UI YEN’S EYEBROWS
The question is a simple one, really, but not one you were expecting, which is why you sit and grapple for an answer. Ask yourself, what if no answer is needed, what if there is no answer, can you remain silent, or will you feel somehow incomplete if you do not respond? All answers are…
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NATURE’S PROPHET
He sits still demanding your attention. He stares at you with green eyes and a defiant look, saying you are a visitor here, this is our world so do not abuse your privilege of sharing this space with us. We were here long before you arrived and our kind will be here long after you…
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ASHES TO DUST
The dolphin is born of the water, the man born of the fire and of the earth. The dolphin swims unrestrained, the man chooses to live in the city of Afterlife, focussed on impending rebirth. The dolphin stares up in wonder at the amassing clouds, the man curses the sky shielding him from heaven. The dolphin…
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an old writer and his words 