an old writer and his words

  • NOTHINGMAN

    So when you asked me whichsuperhero I would like to beI would’ve thought you mighthave narrowed it downto the Marvel or DC universes,or did you mean that I couldcreate my own superpower and persona?All of this matters, of course, for anyperson under 75 and male and manyfemales in that cohort as wellknow the vast gulf…

    Lou Faber

  • HOGEN’S BY BOAT OR LAND

    When the teacher asks youwhy you came to see himwhat will you answer?If you ask him a questionhe will sit silentlywaiting for you to answer.If you simply nodand bow he will smileand you may leave fulfilled. A reflection on Case 51 of The Book of Equanimity (従容錄, Shōyōroku)

    Lou Faber

  • JOSHU’S CYPRESS TREE

    Before the beginningof timewhat time was it?If you cannot answerthis simple koanyour answer is correct.In a drop of dewlies the universeall you must dois join it. A reflection on case 47 of the Book of Equanimity (従容錄, Shōyōroku)

    Lou Faber

  • HOW MANY

    The better question, the onefor which there can beno real answer, ishow many couples of our agewould be together today,would never have gotten together,if we had cell phonesand tablets when we were young.The use of that word alonestrongly hints at whatI imagine that answer to be.A telephone, landlinethey now call it, required presence,required you to…

    Lou Faber

  • TIME IS DUE

    Why must everything happen in due time? That is what he wanted to know. He understood things having a due date. That was a certainty if you accepted the calendar. But what was a due time? Time was a construct, a measuring system, seconds, minutes, hours, all neatly divided so you could identify any single…

    Lou Faber

  • RAKUHO’S LAST MOMENTS

    If you sit before the teacherand he asks you “how isyour practice, good or not”how do you answer?If you say your practiceis good, your teacherwill call you a liar.If you say your practiceis not good, your teacherwill tell you to practice. A reflection on Case 41 of the Book of Equanimity (従容錄, Shōyōroku)

    Lou Faber

  • RAKUHO’S LAST MOMENTS

    If I ask you “do youwish to find enlightenment,”how do you answer?If you say you doyou are yet another stepin the wrong direction.If you say you do notwish to find enlightenment,why are you practicing?If you sit on the cushionin total silence saying nothingyour answer willecho off the walls. A reflection on Case 41 of the…

    Lou Faber

  • UMMON’S WHITE AND BLACK

    If you come upon a masterand he says “give me your answer,”how do you respond?You cannot say to himthat he has not asked a questionfor that would be an answerto a question you sayhas not been given.Better you should bow to himand sit silently before him. A reflection on Case 40 of the Book of…

    Lou Faber

  • JOSHU’S BOWL-WASHING

    When you sit before your teacherhe may ask you a simple question,why, perhaps, your robeis not tied, why, perhaps,your posture is slumping.If you sit and answer,he will dismiss you, butif you stand and tie your robe,sit down in a good posturehe will give you gasshoand send you on your path. A reflection on Case 39…

    Lou Faber

  • RINZAI’S TRUE MAN

    If I ask youwho you are, howwill you answer?If you give me your name,that is not the answerfor your name is a wordand you are not a word.If you tell me whatyou have done, thatis not the answer,for those are actions.If you sit silentlyon the cushionthat is the answer. A reflection on Case 38 of…

    Lou Faber