Zenutiae

It Ain’t What You Do, It’s What It Does To You

Rae — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 23:37:19 +0000

I have not bummed across America
with only a dollar to spare, one pair
of busted Levi’s and a bowie knife.
I have lived with thieves in Manchester.

I have not padded through the Taj Mahal,
barefoot, listening to the space between
each footfall picking up and putting down
its print against the marble floor. But I

skimmed flat stones across Black Moss on a day
so still I could hear each set of ripples
as they crossed. I felt each stone’s inertia
spend itself against the water; then sink.

I have not toyed with a parachute cord
while perched on the lip of a light-aircraft;
but I held the wobbly head of a boy
at the day centre, and stroked his fat hands.

And I guess that the tightness in the throat
and the tiny cascading sensation
somewhere inside us are both part of that
sense of something else. That feeling, I mean.

- Simon Armitage

the mind does not decrease

Rae — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 21:50:54 +0000

All of you should penetrate your own minds;
do not record my words.
Even if principles as numerous as the sands of the Ganges are spoken of,
the mind does not increase.
And if nothing is said,
the mind does not decrease.
- Ma-tsu (709-788)

lives of quiet desperation

Rae — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 02:35:13 +0000

Most men lead lives of quiet desperation
and go to the grave with the song still in them.
- Henry David Thoreau

there is nothing I dislike

Rae — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 23:12:02 +0000

“The true practitioner of the Way completely transcends all things. Even if heaven and earth were to tumble down, I would have no misgivings. Even if all the buddhas in the ten directions were to appear before me, I would not rejoice. Even if the three hells were to appear before me, I would have no fear. Why is this so? Because there is nothing I dislike.”

- Linji Yixuan
.

An autumn night

Rae — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 10:24:58 +0000

An autumn night.
Don’t think your life,
didn’t matter.
- Basho

Little minds

Rae — Thu, 29 May 2008 05:20:53 +0000

Little minds are interested in the extraordinary;
Great minds in the commonplace.

- Elbert Hubbard

Red vs Blue eps 01

Rae — Wed, 28 May 2008 03:24:36 +0000

This is the original Red vs Blue episode, marking a new way of interacting with computer games.

Live close to the ground

Rae — Tue, 27 May 2008 21:25:38 +0000

In dwelling, live close to the ground.
In thinking, keep to the simple.
In conflict, be fair and generous.
In governing, don’t try to control.
In work, do what you enjoy.
In family life, be completely present.

- Tao Te Ching

Study only death

Rae — Wed, 21 May 2008 09:32:15 +0000

A recluse came and asked: “What is the primary concern in religious practice?”

The Master responded: “Put everything aside and only study death. Always study death, free yourself from death, and when death really comes you will not be flustered. In order to save others, knowledge is necessary. For your own salvation, however, whatever knowledge you have grasped becomes your enemy. Just be mindless as earth; recite the nenbutsu (praise to Amida Buddha) and study death.”

Suzuki Shosan (1579 –1655)
From Warrior Zen – The Diamond-hard Wisdom Mind of Suzuki Shosan

alive and free

Rae — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 20:10:49 +0000

We are sailing on the seas for Jersey Clipper
In search of things we yet have come to know
We are sailing hard and looking for adventure
We are alive and free
Just being you and me
Out on the rolling sea
A thousand miles from home
~ from Jersey Clipper by Julian Shaw