an old writer and his words

  • CHURCHES

    I have already visitedcountless churches basilicas, shrinesand admired the art, the simple beauty,free of liturgy and belief. I did not stopto pray, to implead, merely to see,to listen, to absorb. for I was a Jew.a nonbeliever in a Christian worldsilently tolerated. Now, I have learnedI was only half Jewish, half, hidden a polyglotof Christianity, a…

    Lou Faber

  • MOSES SAYS TO AARON

    We sat in the tentand you complained againof our condition, knowingwhat lies just out of reach.He speaks to me, not youand there is little you can doto hide your jealousy.I often wonder what mighthave happened if I had wipedthe blood of the lamb from your lintel.It was you who watchedthe calf take shape anddid nothing,…

    Lou Faber

  • GYOZAN PLANTS HIS HOE

    Coming infrom a just plantedbut barren rice fieldwhen I ask youhow many grains of ricethis harvest will yieldyou stand silentlyand we nod in agreement. A reflection on Case 68 of the Shobogenzo (True Dharma Eye) koans.

    Lou Faber

  • A LITTLE DRUMMER

    It seems less than fair that as a childI was Jewish to the core, adopted, yes,but certainly fully Jewish and not merelyby maternal lineage which would suffice. Christmas was alien to me then, evenwhen I left Judaism behind, a shadowthat would follow me closely intomy Buddhist practice and life. But DNA made a liar of…

    Lou Faber

  • THE WORLD-HONORED ONE POINTS TO THE EARTH

    As you walkin search of enlightenmentstop at a templeand seek it there. If you cannot finda temple, build one. Look at where you areand be therein that templeand stop searching,for you are home. A reflection on Case 4 of the Book of Equanimity

    Lou Faber

  • An Invitation for the Patriarch

    You may wrap yourselfwith all of the sutras,drink dharma with a straw,look carefully for teachers. You will drown in the conditionsyour breath swallowedbut unending thoughts. The answers are always withinteacher is studentstudent is teacherthis momentonly moment. A reflection on Case 3 of the Book of Equanimity

    Lou Faber

  • Bodhidharma’s Vast Emptiness

    When teacher and studentsit face to face,mat to mat, looking deeplyone at the other,which is the teacherand which is the student? You are wrong.There is no teacher,there is no student,there is only the silenceof the momentin which all dharmais made obvious. A reflection on Case 2 of the Book of Equanimity

    Lou Faber

  • THREE HAIKU

    A momentthen another, anotheronly this one a world of delusionyesterday and tomorrowBuddha says Now! Egrets take flightwe stare awestrucknature pities us

    Lou Faber

  • KEICHU THE WHEELMAKER 無門關 八

    A collection of sticksand boards is Keichu’s cart Keichu’s cart no morethan a pileof sticks and boards not Irides no horsepulling no cart a hundred spokesdance in ten directions. A reflection on Case 8 of the Mumonkan (Gateless Gate Koans)

    Lou Faber

  • WE ARE THE PEOPLE

    We are the people, Who heard the glass breakingthat night as we huddled at home, Who inhaled the smokeof the Holy books as they burned, Who tried to flee but hadnowhere to go, always turned away, Who visited cosmetic doctorsto reshape our noses to look like the others Who adopted names to helperase a potentially…

    Lou Faber