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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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RINZAI’S ENLIGHTENMENT 正法眼蔵 二十七
If you ask your question you will find an answer but ask another and the stick will respond each time. If you seek another teacher will you change the question or the answer, and does it matter. Take up the stick, who will you strike, your teacher or yourself, and is there any real difference?…
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QUESTIONING THE BUDDHA 無門關 三十二
Sit in utter stillness, turn away from words, let non-words wash over you, and give them no hold. The shadow of the whip will dance toward you like a cloudless sky blue and not blue – take to hoof and gallop. A reflection on case 32 of the Mumonkan (Gateless Gate) For Something Different, a…
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SHUZAN’S SHIPPEI 無門關 四十三
Osho holds up a staff and cradles a small long haired dog. What do you call these, he asks the gathered assembly in both fact and reality? A chattering din brings the hall to silence, until the ghost of Joshu unfolds himself, strides to the zendo door, and while bowing, shouts MU! A reflection on…
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MEDITATION
A wise Buddhist teacher once told me that anything you do, if you do it mindfully, can be a form of meditation, and I have taken this into my practice, albeit with mixed success, but that is one reason they call it practice. Walking silently, following your breath in and out, aware of your feet,…
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EATING MEDITATION
The key to a simple meal is to cook the rice until each grain sits comfortably next to its neighbor without touch or embrace. On this, pour a bit of miso diluted by water of a stream or pulled from deep within the earth. Top it all with finally cut vegetables, carefully strewn as you…
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UNSEEN
“There is an art,” the old monk said, his samu-e belted tightly, “to spreading peanut butter. Consider this carefully for it is a matter of gravest importance. Spreading peanut butter requires care just as meditation does. You wouldn’t think so, but try it in your robes and see how unruly your sleeve can be. It…
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ROSO FACES THE WALL
Come before the Master. If he turns from you and faces the wall he honors you. If the Master enters your room and you turn to the wall you will deserve his stick. As you cannot sit in the Master’s seat he may not sit in yours, but all seats are one seat, no wall…
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SETTLING
Settling into perfect stillness, each of us in our brown robes on brown chairs, benches cushions, note his entry is somewhere between the thundering of a forgotten storm or the garbage trucks crawling slowly down the street. His gray-blue shirt and jeans flash by. He is large in every dimension, even his breathing nice and…
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NANSEN’S AGE 鐵笛倒吹 二十四
When you enter the hall which seat will you take? Your seat is determined by how long you have walked the Way, how long has it been. If you can measure the time that marks your entry sit at the far end for the honored seat is reserved for the ancients who enter the Way…
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an old writer and his words 