an old writer and his words

  • ISN’T IT A PITY

    birdsdo not knowor acceptboundaries demandfreedom to fly whereand when they will they acknowledgehereand therelook downon peoplesadly, knowinggravity is our prison and we draw linesto keepothers outourselves inour space private birds haveinfinite spaceand freedomand pityfor us

    Lou Faber

  • JOSHU’S DOG

    Joshu’s dogand Schrodinger’s cat-are they oneand the same?Leave the lidon the boxof the mind.What isthe half lifeof a thought? A reflection on Cse 114 of teh Shobogenzo (Dogne’s True Dharma Eye)

    Lou Faber

  • A STONES TOSS

    If you toss a stoneinto a placid pondthe ripples will washaway from the landing spotas so many small waves,and unseen, the areaof the pond’s surfacewill grow imperceptibly. If you toss a stoneinto an vast ocean,the ripples will washaway from the landing spotsmall unnoticed wavesand unseen, the areaof the ocean’s surfacewill grow imperceptibly. Ask  yourself now,whether…

    Lou Faber

  • TAKING

    You can take my sight,but my mind will still see what it must,and my fingers will become eyes.You can take my hearing,I will imagine what I must,and my eyes will become ears.You can take my tongue,but my body will shout what I must,and my hands will speak volumes.The only thing you cannot takeis my words,…

    Lou Faber

  • DON’T MIND

    Both the great ape and the chimpanzeesay they have been horribly malignedby Buddhist teachers of all people. They point out that they have beenmeditating since the Buddha satbeneath the bodhi tree and was enlightened. They are capable of deep thought,are clearly as sentient as people, they claim with some evidence in support. Why is it, they…

    Lou Faber

  • A LESSON TO TEACH

    This is what I would tell my sons:“You came from an ancient people,a heritage of poetsand tailors, or thievesand blasphemers,of callous menand slaughtered children.I would give you these books,written by God, some have said,although I am doubtfulbut driven by Erato, without doubt.” This is what I would tell my sons:“I didn’t go to war —there were so many…

    Lou Faber

  • CHANGES

    The finches are strugglingthis morning, searching the lawnfor the odd clover seed that’s yet to be reduced to dust by a summerwhere the rain has paintedour world with a palette of parchment, ochre, leaving uswandering an increasingly sepia world.  We know that the rains will come again, that nature’s green will return, however briefly, beforewinter encases us all in…

    Lou Faber

  • THE ROOM

    It was a strange room,that much I recall, with heavyvelvet curtains coveringwhat should have been a window, and might once have been, but no longer.  The only light was a bare bulbin the ceiling, casting a soft amber wash across the time worn oak floor,and once white walls. There was a chair, nondescriptand now long forgottenand a small…

    Lou Faber

  • NANGAKU’s MIRROR CAST AS BUDDHA IMAGE

    A wealthy man mayspend many lifetimeslooking in endless shopsfor a mirror castas a Buddha image.The poor man peers into a still pondand sees the entire universe. A reflection on Case 116 of the Shobogenzo (Dogen’s True Dharma Eye)

    Lou Faber

  • SHORT LISTED

    A short list of my college learning: you can drink bad beer when it’s free,you can’t  cram for finals on caffeine alone,you can watch Star Trek episodes for the nth time,you can make spaghetti sauce out of ketchup,Naval ROTC cadets make great radio engineers,even the news director gets free LPs,mescaline is not advised for exam…

    Lou Faber