an old writer and his words

  • PAST DUE

    It seems we have an endlesscapacity for imagining peace,exceeded only by our capacityfor greed and selfishness.We announce our beliefsin equality, equity, diversityand abide them so longas they don’t impede ourdesires, wants, wishes.We offer alms to the poorsolace to the weak, prayersfor the needy so long as theyremain anywhere we do nothave to see or interact…

    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

  • POLISH

    Mother made a point of remindingme to polish my shoes, she saiduntidy shoes are the markof a poor man, one to be avoided. I noticed she never wore shoesthat needed polish, never had waxand brush in hand, and when her shoesshowed wear they were replaced. I learned early not to talk backto her, the penalty…

    Lou Faber

  • THE RITE

    It is coming, a littleover a week now and itwill arrive, always too soon,never ready despite knowingits precise arrival day and time. We will be ready, butonly after a scramble, for thatis how it must be, howit has always been. And again this year wewill be thankful, as all claimon this day, but why do…

    Lou Faber

  • AN INVITATION FOR THE PATRIARCH

    Do not ask meto recite the DharmaWhen I am breathingthere is only breath inand breath out.Be like the poor manlost and wanderinggoing nowhere, eachbreath the only breath.Having nothing, simplybeing. A reflection on case 3 of the Book of Equanimity Koans

    Lou Faber

  • RECALL

    As you sit in your suburban homes,by the pools at your country clubs,in your vacation resort villas, tryfor the sake of the patriarchsand matriarchs of our faith, to rememberthat we were the poor, we werethe huddled masses, we yearnedto breathe free, we the tempest tossed. Remember the tenementsof the Lower East Side,the sweat shops, the…

    Lou Faber

  • NANGAKU’s MIRROR CAST AS BUDDHA IMAGE

    A wealthy man mayspend many lifetimeslooking in endless shopsfor a mirror castas a Buddha image.The poor man peers into a still pondand sees the entire universe. A reflection on Case 116 of the Shobogenzo (Dogen’s True Dharma Eye)

    Lou Faber

  • WHERE WISDOM CANNOT REACH 正法眼蔵 語十七

    The wealthy man has an ornate cup, the working man a very simple one. The poor farmer, nurturing the tea plants, has no cup and all, but for each of them the tea is the same. What is it that you taste? A reflection on Case 57 of the Shobogenzo (Dogen’s True Dhama Eye) For…

    Lou Faber