an old writer and his words

  • WHO IS HE? 無門關 四十語

    Sitting with Shakya and Maitreya in the utter stillness of early morning you each strain to hear the master’s voice. Do not take up Shakya’s bow or attempt to mount Maitreya’s horse Do not engage Hoen in discussion but look inward, hand your bow to Maitreya, the reins to Shakya. There is only one horse,…

    Lou Faber

  • PEACE MANDALA

    The saffron robed  monks stoop carefully, dropping single grains of colored sand onto the mandala of peace. They rock gently as the intricate wheel takes shape and form. They are drawn to its center, closer day by day, countless hours focussed to a singularity. They interlace fingers bow a collective head and pray silently for…

    Lou Faber

  • VAIROCANA (NARA DAIBUTSU)

    Daibutsu, you sit placidly staring down at the throng that slowly bows before you. You can small the faint essence of the joss sticks wafting from the great cast iron pot outside the massive doors. “Do not act as if the world were real” you whisper, or so it seems to my chilled ears, “it…

    Lou Faber

  • TEINEI-SA 丁寧さ

    He crawls out from under the blue tarp strung between two trees and a park bench with the first light of morning breaking over Shinjuku Chuo park, slowly erasing the shadows cast by the Metropolitan Government Building. He neatens the surrounding concrete, ready for the soon to be arriving crowd that appear each morning for…

    Lou Faber