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GENTO’S AXE 鐵笛倒吹 八十二
You sit before himan axe in his hand.He asks a question and saysif you answer I will cut offyour right hand,if you do not respondI will sever your left. There is no soundfrom the clock in the corneras you silently grab his axeand he smilesin deeply shared knowledge. A reflection on Case 82 of the…
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SOMETHING NEW
When I was a child, my motherrepeatedly told me that I mustlearn something new each day. I knew better than to point outthat it was absurd to callfor novel behavior by repetition. So I took the path of least resistanceand each day grabbed a randomvolume of the World Book Encyclopedia, opened to any page and…
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KNOWLEDGE
It is difficult explaining to a child,even one who has reached the age of 40,that you once knew all there was to know.They are certain they know more than you,and they know all there is to knowso, a fortiori, you could not knowall that there is to know, period.They will say this with a certain…
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SEPPO CUTS TREES 鐵笛倒吹 二十三
Will you spend all of your time sharpening the blade or will you use it on the tree and if you strike the pith what will you say then? To speak of the sap flowing freely from the wound of the axe is utter foolishness it has no taste on the finger better to feel…
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ISAN’S I HAVE EXHAUSTED MYSELF 正法眼蔵 四十四
Approach the master sitting on his seat. The fool will seek answers having slept through the lesson but the wise student will bow silently and retreat having learned all there is and knowing absolutely nothing. A reflection on case 44 of Dogen’s True Dharma Eye Koans
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ISAN’S I HAVE EXHAUSTED MYSELF 正法眼蔵 四十四
Approach the master sitting on his seat. The fool will seek answers having slept through the lesson but the wise student will bow silently and retreat having learned all there is and knowing absolutely nothing. A reflection on Case 44 of Dogen’s Shobogenzo (The True Dharma Mind)
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EDISON, GO TO HELL
My mother was a firm believer In lecturing, offering vast bits of knowledge, culled from here and there. One of her favorites was Edison’s 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration, and she leaned toward quantity, “It’s all about hard work, go clean your room, clutter will get you nowhere.” Sitting here today amid what I prefer to…
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FLAME
He watched as the flame licked at the lip of the candle, the wax slowly conceding and falling in, forming the cradle on which the flame danced. He wondered how something as simple as a wax cylinder could have an inherent knowledge of beauty and simplicity and yet he stared at it certain the knowledge…
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AUDIENS CAVE
I just want you to know that the Old Man set me up, and I’ll admit that, cagey as I am, I never saw it coming. I mean I knew he was capable of anything, but he always adopted this holier than thou persona so why would I imagine He’d do this? And it wasn’t…
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MY REFLECTIONS
Each morning I stare into the mirror and see the same white hair and wonder who I will be today and what I was on all of those other mornings. I ask the mirror what life has in store for me this day but it only smirks, never answers as if it knows something I…
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an old writer and his words 