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NOTHING, AND LESS
The hardest thing, he said to his teacher, both sitting on their mats, is not not thinking, but what to do when the thoughts come anyway. I can’t seem to get rid of them no matter how hard I try.” “Do not try to do anything,” the Sensei said, “for anything you do introduces another…
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GYOZAN DRAWS A LINE 鐵笛倒吹 八十三
At the end of a long day of discourse the teacher may ask the student what have you learned. How should the student respond. The student may raise a finger and trace a line in the air of a fading day. Which, I ask you is the teacher and which is the student? A reflection…
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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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NANQUAN’S SICKLE
If you ask the teacher where you can find the key to enlightenment, what do you do when the teacher stares back at you in silence. If the teacher asks you where he can find the key to enlightenment, do you tell him that he possesses it, and if you do, will he simply stare…
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THREE CALLS 鐵笛倒吹 三十九
If your name is called how do you answer? If it is called again and then again, will your answer always be exactly the same, or will you grow angry and deny even yourself? Surely your teacher knows who you are but knowing yourself, that is the highest mountain you will be asked to climb.…
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BEING
“Be in the moment,” he says repeatedly, imagining this is what the teacher should say. I want to tell him there is no other possible moment I could be in, but having to try to find the words instantly takes me out of this and every other possible moment. It is said that when the…
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SELF AND NO-SELF
The Buddha said when the student is ready the teacher appears. My Rabbi used to say when you are ready the Lord will appear. But you may not recognize God, that’s okay. Both Buddha and my Rabbi might have said that when you are ready you will appear and it is then you will no…
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TOKUSAN’S LION 鐵笛倒吹 九十三
As you approach the teacher, close the gate ahead of you, for an open one is no gate at all. If you ask, he will open it, but when he asks who wishes entry what do you say, you are a mere cub. If you bow to him expect a gentle blow from his…
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ENSO IT GOES
I spent much of yesterday trying to draw perfect enso. You would think it easy to draw the simple circle, one easy stroke, but my efforts suggest otherwise. It is my Western mind, my teacher once suggested, always linear, this moment next to that, and then the one that must naturally follow. If not a…
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ULTIMATE TRUTH 鐵笛倒吹 四十三
When the stick is raised a truth hovers nearby, will you accept it? When the student is struck does truth leave the polished wood, sinking into the student’s shoulder or does it rise up within the student to meet the falling stick? Sitting zazen do you ask directions to the zendo? A reflection on Case…
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an old writer and his words 