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HOLY
The sun slowly climbsup onto the mountain’s minaretand announces the call to prayer.The waves in the quiet Lakedip their heads watching treeswith the reverence reserved for morning.The loon sits on the altarand intones the sermon, the wavesstilling for a moment, then ebbing into the day.
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STARING
He liked nothing betterthen to sit outsidehis small cottageand stare into the pondonce the blaze on the waterset by the sun was consumedas fire must always be by water.As night deepened, he staredinto the sky, seeing the moonslowly rise, chasing alongthe sun’s now deserted path.He knew the myriad of starsshared his interest, staringbut he abandoned…
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ASK OF THE SEA
When you ask me of the sea,living, as I do, fifteen milesfrom the nearest ocean, itis not the sandy beachesof Hutchinson Island I recall,nor the crowded sandboxthat is Fort Lauderdale’s beach. If you ask me of the sea,it is perched on the horizon,far in the distance, lookingout of the kitchen window,or perhaps that of the…
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EVEN HERE
As winter closes in around us,even here, the Great Blue Heronsgo about building a nest,inviting us to watch as theymake a home of gatheredbranches and twigs, obliviousto the state of our world,of the pandemic gripping us. We watch respectfully, knowingthat in this darkest of seasons,we are about to witnessour own little miracle and willsoon bear…
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EYES HAVE IT
It is the eyes that fall in love,the heart that follows likean always faithful shadow,and the mind and reason thatare bound to darkness and silence. That is what I learned in my dreamlast night, or my recollection of it, for dreamsmay fade in the sharp light of morning. But dreams have a potent magic, a…
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HYAKUJO’S SECOND VISIT 正法眼蔵 語十四
You may come asking questions,and perhaps the teacherwill answer you with a discourse.If you go deaf and hear nothing,if the words flitlike so many mayfliesjust as soon gone,if no word finds purchaseyou will have a graspthe heart of the Dharma. A reflection on Case 54 of Dogen’s Shobogenzo (The True Dharma Eye)
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PHOTOGRAPH
I saw a picture of you today, althoughI can’t be certain when it was taken,and while I can easily say that youlook exactly as I remember you,that is saying nothing really,for moments after I took the picturewe said goodbye to each other,intending to meet again, knowingthe chances of that were minuscule. I have returned your…
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TIMELESS
The wonder of clocks in old towns and citiesis that few actually care if the timethey portend is accurate or an approximation. The importance often seems inverselyproportional to the size of the place in whichit is called upon to render a temporal verdict. Best of all are the clocks whose handshave ground to a halt,…
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LESSONS
The most important lessons he taughtwere in those moments when he wasabsolutely silent, the smile acrosshis face shouting across the backgrounddin of everyday life, his eyes widewith a sort of childish awe that I hadlong since given up as adolescent. The child sees everything for the first timeregardless how many times she hasgazed at what…
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ABIDING
The dawning sun brings forth the birds’morning chorus, their song glidesthrough the windows, no wordsare needed, their meaning heardand through it all, morning simply abides. We are left to shelter within, to girdourselves against the unseen tidethat has washed over us undeterred,rendered all once normal absurdand through it all, morning simply abides. We cannot change…
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an old writer and his words 