I’ve wanted to say something about giving thanks. Although obviously late to the national celebration, thanks shouldn’t be an exercise limited to a quasi-historical calendar entry. After all, FDR moved the date to accommodate retailers. How long ago was that?…
Seven Words
Seeing his reflection in a stream, Dongshan Liangjie realized “It now is me; I now am not it.” So it is with the other person we may encounter.
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Mano y mano
Confluence: Encounters between the hand of man and the hand of nature A Yucca plant seems to stand in defiance of a Cadillac bearing down on and looming over it. It’s as though the barbed plant with its contrasting yellow…
Shake me, wake me
We remember (don’t we?) how, as kids, time seemed to stretch out forever. A week seemed like a month. Waiting an hour to do something seemed almost punishing. In our formative years, much of what we encountered was brand new…
Tagged with: Baizhang, conditioning, Dōgen, Mazu, Reality, reasoning, Shigong, time, unconscious, Xitang
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Commodified Life
A remark sticks with me that’s related to a piece of modern art. It oscillates like a tuning fork of contemporary society. The art is “Gold Marilyn Monroe,” Andy Warhol’s 1962 silkscreen of the actress. The remark comes from Anne…
Dogen, Dongshan and Empty Self
Zen Master Dōgen’s essay “Genjōkōan” famously presents us with the notion that the self we call “I” is a fallacy. In “Genjōkōan,” Dōgen tells us, “To carry the self forward and experience myriad things is delusion. That myriad things come…
Water Life
Rain rejoins the clouds In this pool, just as it is The mirrored blue sky Isn’t bounded or doubtful As we.
Places of Experience
Headed toward the Tuscan town of Volterra, we encounter an anomaly some might interpret as an ensō. It has the same characteristics—complete in itself, perfectly balanced and whole. But what is it, really . . . this red metal, industrial-quality, super-sized…
Tagged with: being, boundlessness, Dōgen, emptiness, empty, enso, experience, form, Heart Sutra, impermanent, interdependence, life, life force, openness, Prajna, Reality, Self, senses, separation, Shobogenzo, Staccioli, universe, Zen
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Just Ask Roshi
A few years ago, I imagined a Zen advice column of the “Dear Abby” genre. It would be titled “Just Ask Roshi.” This came to mind shortly after reading Zen Master Dōgen’s Genjōkōan. The put-on didn’t develop any further than…
Tagged with: delusion, Dongshan, Dōgen, Genjōkōan, Reality, Roshi, Self, unconscious mind, Zen
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genkikoan 