James Joyce's birthday. A nod to Dublin's finest. May he rest in peace. And? No resting in peace in Cairo tonight as clashes are raging in Tahrir Square. So sad. What is so captivating, too, in this unfolding tale in Egypt (and elsewhere in the "Arab" world these days) is the desire to be free. [...]
All of this upheaval in Egypt that I read about, hear about, seems absolutely incomprehensible and absolutely comprehensible at once. I feel I'm with them and not, so far and right here. In a magazine, I come upon this fragment written by Roland Barthes in 1977: "Each of us has his own rhythm of suffering." [...]
The other day I took from my shelf a book (plays by Sam Shepard) that I have not touched for many, many years. I open it at random and out falls a postcard image of James Joyce... I look inside the cover, where I had as usual written the date of the book's purchase: 01/81. [...]
We sat all together yesterday, starting out with the question, "Where are we?" It made for a fabulous morning --- the answers kept coming to me, arising one after the other: on the floor, on a cushion, under the ceiling, in front of the table, in the house, in the garden, in the living room, [...]
Winter chill upon us again here. Predictions are for snow --- in the south of France, in the back country above Nice and the Côte d'Azur! The unexpected never ceases. How funny, then, that most of the time we wander along living within the confines of what we expect. I know that I expect the [...]
I stumble across this bit of information in the newspaper, in an article about the "expansion" of the universe; the report asserts that as the universe expands, galaxies will be pulled farther and farther away from Earth: "Light emitted by such galaxies will therefore fight a losing battle to traverse the rapidly widening gulf that [...]
Heading to the post office tonight on a busy avenue crowded with vehicles and passers-by, I hear the strange call of a bird. I pause. It's coming from above, somewhere high in the bare branches of a tall tree. In the dim light I can make out what appears to be two nests and a [...]
Late again. Or is it? Seems more dark, quiet, restful than late. As if the obscure slide into night brings welcome nonresistance. Which reminds me of a variation on "yes meditation" proposed by the piano maestro Keith Jarrett: “If I let my hands play, my only rules are: ‘Don’t say no to harmony, don’t say [...]
Someone reminded me today about this poem that Leonard Cohen wrote about his Zen teacher, entitled "Roshi": I never really understood what he said but every now and then I find myself barking with the dog or bending with the irises or helping out in other little ways. Rare and precious words. Don't know what [...]
This afternoon at Monoprix, a local down-market department store and supermarket, there is a commotion by one of the exits. A woman's shouts rise, a small crowd has assembled. The guard is trying to wrestle a shopping bag away from the woman. Looks like a foiled shop-lifting attempt. Except that she's hanging on for dear [...]
Le Web carnet de Amy Hollowell Sensei, fondatrice de la Wild Flower Zen Sangha et successeur de Catherine Genno Pagès Roshi dans le lignage Zen Soto de Taizan Maezumi Roshi, fondateur du Centre Zen de Los Angeles.
The Web notebook of Amy Hollowell Sensei, founder of the Wild Flower Zen Sangha and dharma successor of Catherine Genno Pagès Roshi in the Soto Zen lineage of Taizan Maezumi Roshi, founder of the Los Angeles Zen Center.
Alexis says:
Alexis says:
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