an old writer and his words

  • KEMBO’S TRANSMIGRATION 鐵笛倒吹 六十七

      Awakening in the morning when you first see the sun and the dew resting on thee leaf which eye are you using. When you stare into the mirror through what eye do you see, and what eyes stare back at you. When you see the deer lying in the road which eye do you…

    Lou Faber

  • OH, NOAH

    None of us can remember what was here before. We can search for clues, develop elaborate surmises and find telling relics from which we can conclude this or that, with a certitude the gods would surely mock. But our field of vision is restricted, our memories equally so, and we are left with one certainty,…

    Lou Faber

  • JOSHU’S DWELLING 鐵笛倒吹 七十

      If a poor man offers you the finest diamond do you take it, and what of the gift of a crust of bread from the wealthy man. Each gift, in its way, is worthy of rejection. Once I grasped at great thoughts – now I can forget my own name and wonder whose face…

    Lou Faber

  • CHAO CHOU’S FOUR GATES

      Standing on the edge of the precipice with your eyes closed,  what will you do? If I turn you around, where is the edge and where is the land from which you approached? If I say you must take a step, do you gently place your toe out and seek to feel the earth,…

    Lou Faber

  • BLOWING OUT THE CANDLE無門關 二十八

      Ryukan and Tokusan, one an old fool one a young fool. Burn your notes, set fire to them both, enlightenment can be found in the ashes, where words and thought are carried off on the winds. A reflection on Case 28 of the Mumonkan (The Gateless Gate)

    Lou Faber

  • NANSEN’S REJECTIONS 鐵笛倒吹 四十四

      If you come before Master Nansen, will you come holding the posture of a monk or a lay person, and when Nansen turns you away, how will you exit the room? Nested hands and gassho hands – both are so easily manacled – why leave the room at all? A reflection on case 44…

    Lou Faber

  • ONE FLAVOR ZEN

    How far must you wander to taste the pure essence, hear the pure note, see deeply into beauty, smell the first flower of spring, touch another heart? Will you grow tired from standing still in total silence contemplating this? A reflection on Shobogenzo Case 65 (Dogen’s True Dharma Eye)

    Lou Faber

  • THE WATCHER

    He stands transfixed on the bridge, arms outstretched, staring at the river always flowing slowly by below. He wears a garland of gold, an inscription in Hebrew, the holiest of holies, mocking those who hold him a man. Did he peer out of the corner of his eyes as they marched them across the bridge…

    Lou Faber

  • SEKITO’S GREAT AND SMALL CANON 正法眼蔵 語十三

    This wave touches the shore just as it should, that wave touches the shore just as it should. You may wait an eternity for a wave that touches but not as it should or you can sit and let the waves wash over you. A reflection on Case 53 of the Shobogenzo (Master Dogen”s True…

    Lou Faber

  • THIS IS HOW WE MOURN

    This is how we mourn: we don’t berate the clouds for gathering, nor begrudge the rain’s ultimate descent. Our tears fall to the earth as well, and there are moments when we need the gray, moments when the sun would be an unwelcomed interloper. This is how we mourn: we wipe the walls clean of…

    Lou Faber