an old writer and his words

  • WHERE AM I?

    Wandering aimlessly throughthe park, along a well trodden,now well rutted trail, uncertainwhere I was at that moment ormost any moment lately,I came across a weathered signwith what once might have beena map but was now a dot withthe legend “You Are Here” whichsettled one existential question.I realized in that moment Imost likely wanted to be…

    Lou Faber

  • SHURANGAMA’S UNSEEN

    If you believe thatthe dharma is the mapto enlightenment youare truly lost in the swamp.If you believe there isno need for dharma youare wandering a desert.Dharma will not leadyou to enlightenmentbut enlightenment willlay open all of dharmabefore you. A reflection on Case 88 of the Book of Equanimity (従容錄, Shōyōroku)

    Lou Faber

  • CHUYU’S MONKEY

    If you ask a true masterto explain enlightenmentto you, if you believehis answer, you are deludedand the master has givenyou a map to the truth.If the master says nothingand you doubt he knowsabout enlightenment, youare deluded and no mapwill set you on the path. A reflection on Case 72 of The Book of Equanimity (従容錄,…

    Lou Faber

  • SAD MONOLOGUE

    It is a truly sad momentwhen you first come to realizethat the inner dialog you thoughtyou were having with your psychehas been little more than a monologue,the ramblings of the court jester,or worse, the fool, your psychehaving grown deaf to your complaints,your incessant worries, or worse still,the ever growing fears you bring uponboth of you,…

    Lou Faber

  • OBAKU’S DREGS

    Why do you roamfrom teacher to teacherseeking the directionto the path of enlightenment.The teachers have no mapsto share with you, no shortcuts,no coupons for kensho.But a good teacherwill tell you that you arealready on the path you seekand leave you in silenceto follow it. A reflection on Case 53 of The Book of Equanimity (従容錄,…

    Lou Faber

  • NEXT UP

    Back in the day,that day being the last timeI attended an open mic,odd since most are intimate enoughthat no microphone is provided,I stood at the lecternand looked carefully at the audiencethat was mine for the next few minutes.I wanted to see their responseto me, my clothing choicesand then my words, trying to readthe indecipherable map…

    Lou Faber

  • THE BLEEDING EDGE

    We are lovers of novelty, we wantall that is new or clingingto what we imagine are our roots.It has long been this way,you need only look at the map.Hampshire, York, Jersey, andfor that matter Brunswick and Mexico.We crave innovation, we alwayswant to be on the cutting edge, forgettingthat all too soon it will becomethe bleeding…

    Lou Faber

  • MAP STORE

    The bride walks down the aisletrailing a veil of tearsrolling in the dustof too many centuries,encrusting the virgin. Albert Einsteinpurchases a map of Taos. Bookkeeper hunchesover ledger sheetstallying night winds acrossthe frozen pond, logwedged in the ice. Douglas Macarthurpurchases a map of Hue. Monitors blare newsfrom other worlds, flickeringacross cups of half emptycoffee and cigarette…

    Lou Faber

  • SHOWERS

    We sat on our lanai last nightin our twin rockers, the catcurled close by but carefullyremoved from the rockersand stared into the sky hopingmeteors would grace uswith their fleeting presence. The moon did appear, shroudedin thin clouds, spectral ghostwaxing slowly in hiding, butthe stars had fled this night,fearing the rain thatthe cloud mantle promised. We…

    Lou Faber