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IN MOURNING
I will soon enough bein mourning for literatureand philosophy for the momentis approaching when theywill be lost, or I supposesimply subsumed, swallowedup in a cloud appearingmomentarily then gone. The day is rapidly approachingand if you doubt itfor even a moment, goto your local library, ifit has not closed, and notethe diminishing numberof books, replacedby computers,…
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BUDDHA AND HILLEL DINE TOGETHER
The meeting occurred by chance,two old men sitting in the same parkstaring at the same empty chess boardas the waves of the Stygian Sealapped against the break wall,the ferryman now at the helmof the great cargo ship.“So,” said Hillel, “you come here often?”Old, bent Buddha paused“as far as I know, I havealways been here, or…
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IN SEARCH
En route to Buddhism, I must admit I stopped at numerous philosophical way-stations, none quite as equipped as I would desire and so I moved on. Buddhism was my solution, no demands other than I be present, knowing I had no real choice but to do so, all in the recognition of that fact. I…
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KISO CUTS A SNAKE
Snakes, like coins, have both head and tail. If I cut a snake in two, have I two snakes, or none at all. Walk carefully for the spade that cuts the snake can dig an inescapable abyss. A reflection on case 86 of the Shobogenzo (The True Dharma Eye)
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ANSWERS EVERYWHERE
You assume you know the answer, and wait patiently for the question which is not forthcoming. This becomes your dilemma. You have acquired a catalog of answers, all awaiting questions that never come forth. Of course it isn’t fair, you know that full well, but that, too, is an answer that must await a question…
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FEAR LESS
The hard part of death and dying is not the giving up or letting go but the taking from. This is why the living fear death while the dead are fearless.
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EVOLUTION
We arose from water, crawled forth and inhabited the land and claimed dominion and the land appeared to cede itself to us, knowing better and caring even less. We return to the water feel its pull but immerse ourselves only partially, willing to risk only half drowning, the land and air usually silent, knowingly…
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PHILOSOPHER’S STONE
The philosopher sits on a rock overlooking a pond with a single water lily. To defeat your enemy, you must have his mind. To have his mind, you must be him. To be him, you must cast off self-loathing When there is no loathing, he is not your enemy. If you have no enemies, you…
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BUDDHA AND HILLEL DINE TOGETHER
The meeting occurred by chance, two old men sitting in the same park staring at the same empty chess board as the waves of the Stygian Sea lapped against the break wall, the ferryman now at the helm of the great cargo ship. “So,” said Hillel, “you come here often?” Old, bent Buddha paused “as…
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RELATIVE(LY)
Where I live we have hills. Mostly we have hillocks, but here they call the very high hills mountains so we have to call the hillocks hills. It is a question of relativity. Einstein understood relativity. He was born near Feldberg which rose nearly 4900 feet up. He lived in New Jersey where you could…
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an old writer and his words 