an old writer and his words

  • HOLY ARMY

    1. A millennium agothe army of the lorddressed in mail and rodeproud steeds acrossbarren lands, swordsflashing in a red roasting sunwashed in the bloodof the infidels.They stopped for prayerblessing the bodiesleft along the dirt trackleft by their hooves,a common gravefor common facesdiffering only in the colorof skin and hair. 2. In this millenniumthe army of…

    Lou Faber

  • WOODEN PILLOW 鐵笛倒吹 六十

    If, sitting at your mealyou hear the song of a bird,what do you do?You may tap your chopstick rest,and perhaps he will answerand repeat his sweet song.If you tap a second timeand there is only silenceis the bird rejecting youor offering his song to another,flown from your window. Perhaps you should tap againand hear the…

    Lou Faber

  • LIGHTS

    For eight days each Decemberthey call out to me as the flameof the candles flickers out,“Remember me” they say in unison,“remember me”, in the voice of the child,an old woman, in Yiddish,in Polish, German, Czech, Latt.I want to remember but I cannot seea face reduced to ash, blendedinto the earth of a farm field outside…

    Lou Faber

  • KYOSEI’S STICK 鐵笛倒吹 六十四

    If Kyosei asksfrom where I have comehow will I answer him?If he asks wheremy teacher liveswhat will I tell him? Such a fool I amto wander from there to herefrom here to another placeseeking a pathon which Iam always standing still.Thirty blows isthe least I deserve.But Kyosei withdrawsthe stick. A reflection on Case 64 of…

    Lou Faber

  • SUIBI’S MEANING

    If you ask how can one find the wayI will take youinto the gardento look at the roses.Each rose isof a different sizeand color, but whichis of the right sizeand which the right shade? A reflection on Case 71 of the Shobogenzo (Dogen’s True Dharma Eye)

    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

  • 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

  • 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

  • GICHU PREACHES 鐵笛倒吹 語十

    If called before the Masterwill you walk from east to westto the Master’s Smile, or west to east, to a sudden frown.Will you approach the Masterbowing with words of gratitudeonly to receive a blow of the stickor seeking instruction in your failureto an equal blow of the stick. Ponder this carefully:what is the answer?I leave you…

    Lou Faber

  • ON THE TENTH PLAGUE

    Mark your doorpost with the bloodof the lamb for this may be the nightwhen God’s emissary arrives for the killingof the first born. Will he be a night birdhalf raven, half vulture or an aged manconcealing his weapon in shabby robes. Mark your doorpost and check itoften for if your neighbor wipesthe blood away, you…

    Lou Faber