an old writer and his words

  • A MOMENT

    A night of broken dreams,a day of trembling handsminutes of knocking kneeswearing a path into an alreadyaging and worn wooden deck.A moment of sight,a moment when time stoppedand words failed, paralyzedby fear, by beauty, by a smile.A meal prattling on, tryingto see signs, not knowing whatthose signs might be.Twenty-three years of a joyI hadn’t known…

    Lou Faber

  • SOZAN’S REQUITED FILIAL PIETY

    When you set out on the pathleaving so much behind,will you continue to graspwhat you have lost or lookonly at what you havein this moment and this?If you cling to whatyou have willinglygiven up you will beforever lost in mourningwhat no longer isand frozen, unable to proceed. A reflection on Case 73 of The Book…

    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

  • KASSAN’S SLASHING SWORD

    Which path will you walkin trying to find enlightenment?How can you know ifit is the correct path?When you sit and contemplatethis do you take a mental broomand attempt to sweepthe dust of thoughtsinto a corner, thus leavingroom for the Buddha, or doyou let the breeze of practicecarry the dust away? A reflection on Case 68…

    Lou Faber

  • KEMPO’S ONE STROKE

    If you try and followthe path of a masteryou will be lostin a forest of doubt.If you ask the masterwhere your path ishe will look downand stareat your feetin silence.Will you start walking? A reflection on Case 61 of the Book of Equanimity (従容錄, Shōyōroku)

    Lou Faber

  • SEIRIN’S DEADLY SNAKE

    If you go before the masterand ask himto set you on the pathto enlightenmenthe will tell youthat you have comeface to face with failureand there is no escape.If you say you areon the path, he willsmile and walkalong with you. A reflection on Case 59 of the Book of Equanimity (従容錄, Shōyōroku)

    Lou Faber

  • MISHI’S WHITE RABBIT

    If you seea poor mancross your pathhow will youdescribe your meeting.If you saya poor mancrossed your pathyou are wrong forperhaps it is youwho crossed his path. A reflection on case 56 of the Book of Equanimity (従容錄, Shōyōroku)

    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

  • SO, JEAN-JACQUES

    I suppose, with some effort,I, too, could become oneof Rousseau’s savage menbut I have to ask myself if thatis a path that I would choose to walk.It isn’t the walking that give me pause,for that, as Rousseau said,enables contemplation and notmere thoughts flitting about,and is a means of meditationin my frantically moving world.And it isn’t…

    Lou Faber

  • JOSHU’S BOWL-WASHING

    When you sit before your teacherhe may ask you a simple question,why, perhaps, your robeis not tied, why, perhaps,your posture is slumping.If you sit and answer,he will dismiss you, butif you stand and tie your robe,sit down in a good posturehe will give you gasshoand send you on your path. A reflection on Case 39…

    Lou Faber