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PRACTICE
It always seems odd that the teacher asks me to think about my practice when the heart of my practice is learning how not to always think about things. But the heart of practice is exactly these oddities, for nothing is exact. In the fourth vow I strive to attain the great way of Buddha,…
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HARMONY
Lao Tse, venerable one you would be pleased as I sit here drawing closer to the center quested for my Buddhahood be not seeking it amid the rain of fire from the hills above the blood congealing in the streets. I know not to ask and am unseen by the child and mother running through…
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MEDITATION
Sitting cross-legged on the floor staring into the pristine moon I hear the wailing of the dog next door, his mantra engulfs mine and I slide away braying at the moon.
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TEACHING AND NOT TEACHING
We walk forwards to try to see where we are going, always wanting but never seeing where we have been. Is it better to walk backward seeing clearly where we will not go without idea of a destination. Look down and decide. A reflection on Case 92 of the Shobogenzo (Dogen’s True Dharma Eye)
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UNLOCKING
There are two keys to it, really the first, and easier, is to make a well with your hands, that would need be not all that deep, just enough to hold your thoughts as you work. The second is to add just the right amount, too little and it is dry and doesn’t hold together,…
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REVEAL
You will, or may see something today that may surprise you. It may reveal itself in a quiet moment, it may be nothing more than a fleeting thought or image, which you are at first uncertain. There won’t be Magi not even magic, though on reflection, it may seem somehow magical. It will happen openly,…
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HUANGBO’S SINGLE STAFF
All singularities are naked and it is only when we clothe them that they crumble away. You step into this river only once but it is this water which will wet your feet when you step in the next and the next. A reflection on Case 91 of the Shobogenzo (Dogen’s True Dharma Eye)
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CUSHION
He sits on the cushion staring through hooded eyes at the wall in front of him. He expects exactly nothing to happen, expects there to be no sound within his mind, only what happens without, expects that time will cease for him, or will at least cease to matter. He is not disappointed. The bell…
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SEKITO’S GREAT AND SMALL CANON 正法眼蔵 語十三
This wave touches the shore just as it should, that wave touches the shore just as it should. You may wait an eternity for a wave that touches but not as it should or you can sit and let the waves wash over you.
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RUYGE’S ULTIMATE STAGE鐵笛倒吹 二十八
If you answer the question I will ask you another each more difficult. If you enter a room and catalog its contents there will always be a door leading to yet another room, another inventory to be taken to determine what is there and what is missing. It is only when you enter an…
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an old writer and his words 