an old writer and his words

  • TIANHUANG’S “ESSENTIAL DHARMA GATE”

    When you askyour teacherfor directionsalong the pathhe will havenothing to say.When you realizethat in beingwith him, inthe silence, hehas given youthe greatest gift. A reflection on case 106 of Dogen’s True Dharma Eye koans (正法眼蔵)

    Lou Faber

  • NO BIALIS

    It shouldn’t be all that hardreally, it should be almostsecond nature, after allI grew up Jewish, and keptto it until I was past fortyand I still have half my genesthat should remember for me.But here I am, sweating bulletsfollowing arcane directionsand hoping for a decent outcome.You wouldn’t think thatmaking bagels would beall that difficult, but…

    Lou Faber

  • TOZAN’S TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN 正法眼蔵 四十九

    When you are askedto climb to the topof the mountain and lookin all directionsand report who you see,if you see no one, howwill you respond?Close your eyesand tell me,am I still here? A reflection on case 49 of Dogen’s Shobogenzo Koans (True Dharma Eye)

    Lou Faber

  • Tozan’s Sixty Blows 無門關 十語

    When you arriveonly questions, eacha finely honed blade. Will you parry and danceavoiding the wounding tipand perhaps taste the sword or risk all and counter-thrust, attack fromten directionsand willingly receivesixty blows from the stickstanding in one place. A reflection on Case 15 of the Mumonkan (Gateless Gate) Koans

    Lou Faber

  • GENSHA’S BLANK LETTER 正法眼蔵 四十八

    If you wish to find the Wayfollow the signs that read“This Is Not the Path” orat least some of them.If you ask me directionsI will hand you a blank sheetand ask you whatdoes it contain.You may say it is voidand you would be correct,or you may say itis a thousand dharma textsand you would be…

    Lou Faber

  • DEMENTIA

    He can remember it as though it was just yesterday. Actually it was just yesterday, but for him that had little to do with memory. Bits of his childhood would come flooding back: the city, the cousins who took him in for the few dollars his mother could offer. But his grandsons are a vague…

    Lou Faber

  • JOSHU INVESTIGATES AN OLD WOMAN 無門關 三十一

    In searching for the path to the holy mountain you may ask directions of the old tea lady sitting still at its base and she may point but placing one foot ahead of the other stare closely at the tea leaves for they, too, know the Way. A reflection on Case 31 of the Mumonkan…

    Lou Faber

  • SENTENCE

    The hardest prison to escape is the one whose walls are built by the mind with fear and trepidation. It is like the open gate you dare not enter, fearing that you are leaving and will not be allowed to return. Atop a pole there are an infinite number of directions to go and only…

    Lou Faber

  • THE GATHERING

    They gather this time every week, they would feel lost if they did otherwise. The don’t do it out of any sense of duty or higher calling, and they expect nothing in return for having done so. They aren’t even following directions or obeying some unwritten rule. They object to most rules, demand logic before…

    Lou Faber

  • DOING THOUGHT TIME

        The hardest prison to escape is the one whose walls are built by the mind in fear and trepidation. It is like the open gate you dare not enter fearing that you are leaving and will not be allowed to return. Atop a pole there are an infinite number of directions in which…

    Lou Faber