-
IN AN ALIEN LAND
He came, stayed a while, and left, and it was only when he was gone that most missed him. Some say he will come back but others are skeptical, and no one really knows for certain. Some actually say that he didn’t leave, that he simply changed, and might appear when no one expects him.…
-
GENSHA’S IRON BOAT 鐵笛倒吹 八十語
Do not suggest you can only be enlightened on a cold day in hell unless you are prepared to carry the air conditioner across the River Styx. Even Cerberus has Buddha nature although none of the heads will say so. A reflection on Case 85 of the Iron Flute Koans
-
ARRIVAL
He arrived this afternoon, but she stayed only briefly and then departed silently. I did not see her arrive, did not sense his stay but am certain he was there, just as I am certain he has never been here. When she is here, you cannot see her, when she is gone, your memory is…
-
SCENE 1 (ACT 0)
First you should draw the scene with as much detail as possible, using the full palette of colors and adding depth and dimension. Next you should write the scene, again with detail, color, depth, for words are capable of all of this. Now compare the scenes, are they the same, and if not, how do…
-
MARKED
The oddest thing about being Buddhist is what I once was, and not just in a prior life. Born, it turns out, and adopted into a secular Jewish family, I must still be Jewish even if I might have lapsed back to secularity, they say, because my Jewishness is a mark, Cain-like it seems, though…
-
BACKSTREET TEMPLE
The afternoon sun glares off the polished roof tiles the bells strung on the pagoda of the small temple tinkle in the wind. There are so few birds in Osaka. First Appeared in Japanophile, Vol. 24, No. 1, 2000.
-
TOO-LY MUCH
It is one thing to be short, quite another to be too short, just as it is one thing to be tall, another thing to be too tall. It is a separate thing determining where the border of “too” should be drawn for any dimension. I am short, but I will never be too short,…
-
PRESENCE
He appeared rather suddenly, and didn’t seem to stay very long. Some claimed they knew he was coming, most never saw him arrive, although some said they saw him clearly, that he visited frequently, that they knew his presence unquestionably and spoke to him at some length. She knew there was much wishful thinking and…
-
THIS WAY?!
The young man asked the old Buddhist monk, “If there are 64,000 gates, how will I know through which I should enter.” The monk paused, considered the question, then smiled broadly. “Why would you want to enter any gate?” the monk said with a wink. The young man replied, “because they are the gates that…
-
NOT OVER THE RAINBOW
It seems odd now, that he is here, a place he never intended to be, as it was a place he could not imagine, yet he most certainly was here. If you asked him why he was here, he would answer that he had to be somewhere, and here is where it was, just as…
-
Subscribe
Subscribed
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
an old writer and his words 