The wild and wandering Zen master Hotei was confronted in a marketplace by another Zen master, who asked him to present his understanding of the Zen teachings. Hotei put down his bag. The other master then asked him to present the practice of Zen. Hotei picked up his bag and continued on his way.
Back from Portugal, a journey across five days, two countries, many encounters old and new. In Lisbon, up hills and down, along the river, then into the deepening night where I am pressed with questions about form. Which might better be called expressions of attachment to form in the guise of rejection of a particular [...]
It's a new day. Can't let this marvelous moment go by without a word or two. Obama's election brings tears of joy to my eyes in front of the computer at 5:30 a.m. My country's capacity to reinvent itself by picking this wise and inspiring man to lead it moves me more than any political [...]
The art of Zen is none other than the art of life. As Brando so aptly noted, Hamlet's soliloquy, Act III, Scene 2, says it all: "Let your own discretion be your tutor. Suit the action to the word, the word to the action, with this special observance, that you o'erstep not the modesty of [...]
A conference at the Cinémathèque was billed as "A cinema lesson," given by the actor/director/counterculture hero Dennis Hopper. It ends up being Hopper just chatting about Hopper and his (famous) buddies. Not much about the art of cinema. A few film clips. He wows the audience by crying as a demonstration of "method acting." I'm [...]
Afternoon is in its final retreat. Evening is enveloping the city. Today I went out for an appointment, ran errands, then returned. Soon, after cooking, I'll be leaving again. The best place is always where I am, nothing finer. A traditional Zen story: Crossing a marketplace, Banzan overheard a conversation between a butcher and his [...]
It's a quiet night now after the busy day. I see I'm anticipating more of that dailyness in the week ahead. Is that what I want? As Joyce said, "I'm like a blind man walking in the street. I trip on something and when I bend down to pick it up, I discover it's exactly [...]
Question from a colleague: How can I make the benefits of practice remain with me throughout my day at the office? That is, how can I not become caught up in the tensions and frictions of (the working) life? He then says that according to the Dalai Lama, "Buddhism" as such cannot "succeed" as such [...]