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ZEN
He has just turned two. He sits on my lap one hand clapping mine, for each of us a moment of Zen in ways no one can understand, since neither he nor I do. His laugh promises something, a future of moments like this, and yet never the same. “It is our river,” his smile…
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WALKING AMONG SAND AND PEBBLES: SHASEKI-SHU
CUP OF TEA 沙石集 一 When the cup is half full what more can be added? In the garden, the moon can exist in a full cup or one only half full. It is the empty cup that can hold entire universes, infinite in capacity. FINDING A DIAMOND 沙石集 二 There are endless paths…
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A DIFFERENT SKY
We lie on a hill side by side, staring up at the passing clouds, discerning shapes, both of us break into a smile, each of us sees a completely different sky. After some time I reach out and touch her hand, our fingers interlace, or perhaps it is she who reached out to me, fingers intertwined.…
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STONE
Off the pier in Santa Barbara a young child throws a stone into the quiet ocean. Later an imperceptible wave slips quietly into Yokohama harbor. In Big Sur a Monarch butterfly slips from her chrysalis on tentative gossamer wings and takes flight. Later, still, I stand on the Boston Commons and cast a momentary smile.
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TOKYO
Walking the grounds of Senso-ji Temple, I look among the statues, half expecting Buddha or Kannon Bosatsu to appear, but only a pigeon answers my expectations. Lighting a joss bundle and placing it into the burner I imagine for a moment that I am zainichi, but the giggles of a flock of uniformed schoolgirls reminds me cruelly…
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SOTO ZEN
The gong reverberates, its depth hangs in the air, fades like a slowly retreating army. The zafu is at once coarse and caressing, nestling me as I settle down into becoming one with the earth, the zabuton, a fluid translator. The mokugyo’s rhythm lies deep within my chest. The incense settles on my tongue, an acrid sweetness,…
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SEASIDE VILLANELLE
The ocean wind swept through the city a sudden rain washed sidewalk, shop and street, carried both dreams and sins back to the sea. For the young child, time slid by easily, life a campaign that allowed no retreat. The ocean wind swept through the city, rattled church windows, so that all could see the…
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LISTENING TO THE FLUTE
YAKUSAN HOLDS IT 鐵笛倒吹 十 Sit just above the peak of the highest mountain and reach up with open fingers, what will you grasp? Walk slowly across the floor of the deepest sea, what do you see below you? If you have three daughters is any one less beautiful than the others? JOSHU COVERS…
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COMPASSION
Kannon, have compassion for us, as if you could do otherwise. We don’t seek wisdom, that’s out of your department. We all seek enlightenment as if it is some neon sign around the next bend in the path. We are well-suited for rushing to unknown destinations. We would offer you prayers, but we have forgotten…
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SCHWARZSCHILD’S GARDEN OF VERSE
In the space of a moment a universe can be engulfed, light pours forth from a black hole, suns rise over the event horizon, space curves in on itself until it is yesterday. Shrodinger’s cat feasts on Albert’s twins and the dice are just out …
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