‘ “Therefore, water is in places that are not rivers and seas; it is just that, when water descends to earth, it works as rivers and seas.” This is the same as our life force: it works in certain ways. To be a writer is not my essence. It is simply a part within the […]
Much as I love reading the New Yorker for learning about new things, intellectual stimulation, and keeping up-to-date with aspects of the news, I was not expecting an article on natural wine to be prompting a blog post. In it were references to a Gurdjieff community in California (which prompted me to send it on […]
‘Seeing all things wisely, as “empty” of their “own-being,” the bodhisattva begins to live differently in the world. Based on the vision that this perspective enables, this new way of living absorbs energy from the surrounding world and transmits quantities of energy that can be absorbed by others. Wisdom empowers that ability, in part by […]
‘There are many forms of practice that may look like Zen practice, but the practice of the Way of Buddha is nothing other than knowing that, essentially, we are not deluded. If you want to get rid of delusion, or think that your present condition is not so good, and therefore want to transform yourself […]
Today is the day when Zen Center commemorates the death of Suzuki Roshi, forty-eight years ago now. The story of his dying, and the timing of it (on the first day of the Rohatsu sesshin) is told often enough. I picture him lying in the room that is now the kaisando, the room that all temples have where the […]
‘We’re all so skilled at discerning how we’re different, but we don’t know enough yet about how we’re all the same.’ (Deep Hope) I have been finding this book full of pithy and uplifting aphorisms such as this one, and I know I will return to it often.
The weather was just about perfect for the roam on Sunday, with clear skies and warm sun. There was a sense, sitting on Bernal Heights looking down over the city, that this was the last of the fine weather that has characterised the last couple of months in San Francisco. Out of the sun the […]
