-
A MISTAKE IN SPEAKING 無門關 三十九
When you speak the words of the Buddha you are lost. Light is everywhere in silence but the tongue must hide in the dark of the mouth. Buddha’s words are flowers unfolding in the dawn by the side of the still pond, the eyes hear the song and respond in silent chorus. A reflection on…
-
SEKIKŌ’S SHORTCOMINGS 正法眼蔵 語十
If you have no earlobes there will be nothing at all to hear. If he has no eyes, it is you who grow blind and your silence can drown his ceaseless tongue. The stick speaks louder than you both. A reflection on Case 50 of the Shobogenzo (Dogen’s True Dharma Eye)
-
SEARCH
forty-three years I’ve searched for my voice a whisper cracked hoarse one moment fluid another then silent. I shape words which fall off my tongue and lie in puddles on the floor. I step in them slipping regaining perilous toehold. I scream strangled thoughts dreams are forgotten the night laughs, she touches my forehead with…
-
ONE EVE, NO ADAM
They arrive ones and twos accrete dissolve reform, swell the cacophony grows takes on a joyousness as they ebb and flow; the food disappears the wine the laughter draws you in and you want only to circulate but how with shifting nuclei and then the scheduled end and hours later the last slips away and…
-
SINGLE CUT
Words have geographic homes and here old favorites seem ill at ease, fitting poorly into thoughts that demand their presence. I use them regardless, but we both know that they will hide their shadings, but in a world where words are the last option, we both know that I have no alternative but to turn…
-
SPEAK NOW, OR . . .
There is a great deal left to be said, and we assume more than enough time for the task, but the ferryman hews to his own schedule and our plans, intentions, desires are beyond his knowledge or caring. It is best to say what you need before recalling that silence is eternal.
-
WE BOW OUR HEADS
Today’s prayer shall be recited in silence total, not even the breath indicating a longing for action. Nor will it invoke a holy spirit without us for it is we we must inveigh to attain the desired actions for which we seek holy intervention, casting off free will, an accreting poor decisions, a goat where…
-
NIL, ZERO, NADA, NYET
This morning absolutely nothing happened. The newswires were silent, or repeated old stories. The sports wires had nothing of note to say, save repeating yesterday’s scores. Even the gossip news was absent, as though a Saturday night passed without embarrassment. I did not mind the quiet, the almost silence, able to listen to the Mockingbird’s…
-
NANSEN’S HUT
If you have fine china you will be saddened when it breaks. If your pantry is full your anxiety grows as the food diminishes. But if you are alone with nothing, the apple that falls on the road is a feast, and the stream runs free with the finest wine. The silence of sun and…
-
DAIJI’S INNER CULTURE
Eyes can look within and discover a boundless universe but the tongue alone can speak only sounds that go false as they dance away unseen. The silence of zazen speaks the dharma, the teisho is offered mutely. The space between eye and tongue is but three inches or an unbridgeable void. A reflection on Case…
-
Subscribe
Subscribed
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
an old writer and his words 