an old writer and his words

  • BODHIDHARMA’S VAST EMPTINESS

    If you go walking one day and meet a person you think may be the Buddha, ask him what is the heart of all of the sutras. If he answers you with Dharma will you be certain this person is not the Buddha? If, on the other hand, he says nothing at all, and merely…

    Lou Faber

  • 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,…

    Lou Faber

  • A MEDITATION

    The true sound of the inkin bell can be heard in the instant before the striker and the bell meet. It is this purest of tones in which all of Buddha’s teachings are laid open for your inspection, if only you are willing to close your eyes and finally see.

    Lou Faber

  • ON THE ROAD

    On the road I found Tao. I held it and gazed at it from every angle, but seeing nothing placed it back on the road. On the road I found a sutra. I held the scroll and gazed at its strange letters, but reading nothing placed it back on the road. On the road I found…

    Lou Faber

  • NARA PARK

    He sits, head so far above, a muted gold, on the giant altar the incense rising up his chest and clouding the eyes of the slow parade of supplicants who bow, recite remembered bits of sutra, or just pause in the semi-silence of the park. They are all seekers, but it is only the few lingering…

    Lou Faber