an old writer and his words

  • IDEOGRAPHING MIND 鐵笛倒吹 四十六

    If you will mark your gatewhat word will you use,what for the door, whatfor the window?The gate knows quite wellwhat it is, as to door and windowand need no marking. Even the fool knowsthrough each youmay enter the house,but even the wise mancannot tell youhow the house may enter you. A reflection on case 46…

    Lou Faber

  • EVER SO BRIEFLY (3 HAIKU)

    listen carefully to the sound of the great bell before being struck cat stares at Buddha pigeons flock to ignore him people see nothing there is no city inside the large gate, only Buddha and pigeons

    Lou Faber

  • SEKISO’S NOTHING IS CONCEALED 正法眼蔵 語十八

    When you look in the mirror are you real, is your reflection real? Be careful what you say, for if I look into that mirror and see you, is the you I see anything other than real? When you go through the gate you say “I am exiting”. When I follow you through the gate…

    Lou Faber

  • JOSHU’S FOUR GATES 正法眼蔵 四十六

    If you ask who I am I will have you close your eyes and walk behind you, or I may step to your left and take your right hand. If you are perplexed, I will ask you, do the four gates open into the city or out to the world beyond, and if I stand…

    Lou Faber

  • WITHOUT WITHIN

    When you peer through the glass are you looking out, or are you looking in, and how would you know which is true, and does it matter. When you walk through a gate are you entering or leaving. If you ask where the gate is located, you cannot find where you are going, for all…

    Lou Faber

  • BEGGAR’S TALE

    I speak clearly, concisely in an ancient, long forgotten tongue that none understand. I tell my tale, leaving out nothing, a summoner in a deaf world, whispering of coins, pulled from an empty pocket and cast at your feet, soundless. I point to signs, lettered in my careful hand, without meaning, cryptic to you You…

    Lou Faber

  • 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…

    Lou Faber

  • NANQUAN’S SICKLE

    If you ask the teacher where you can find the key to enlightenment, what do you do when the teacher stares back at you in silence. If the teacher asks you where he can find the key to enlightenment, do you tell him that he possesses it, and if you do, will he simply stare…

    Lou Faber

  • SEIGAN’S COST OF RICE

    The search will be endless the answer at once obvious and incapable of being found. You seek direction to it, certain the right teacher holds the key to the critical gate, inside which all of the Dharma sits waiting for you. If the teacher asks you how many people live in a distant city you…

    Lou Faber

  • TOKUSAN’S LION 鐵笛倒吹 九十三

      As you approach the teacher, close the gate ahead of you, for an open one is no gate at all. If you ask, he will open it, but when he asks who wishes entry what do you say, you are a mere cub. If you bow to him expect a gentle blow from his…

    Lou Faber