Teachings of a whole lifetime
A monk asked Yun Men: "What are the teachings of a whole lifetime?" Yun Men replied: "An appropriate response." Not really anything else to add... Yet there remains the question: What is the "appropriate response"?
juin 2013
mai 2013
Nathaniel Dorsky, « Three Times Silence »
“There is the world that we see, and then there is the world that artists like Mr. Dorsky see and generously share.” — Manohla Dargis, The New York Times Save the date: The experimental San Francisco filmmaker Nathaniel Dorsky is back in Paris for a projection of some of his recent films at Beaubourg on [...]
Nothing like a bad back to get the mind moving
Late afternoon, it’s pouring rain on the worker’s holiday. Haven’t heard whether the usual union marches went forth or if sales of the traditional (here in France, anyway) lilies of the valley were stable. Never know what to expect in these hard economic times. In fact, the truth is we never know what to expect [...]
avril 2013
What is a retreat? and other questions
What is a retreat? Retreats are precious opportunities for members of the sangha to come together and share practice. In the Wild Flower Sangha, that practice is radical: The universe is our zendo, the earth is the altar, all beings are buddhas and hungry ghosts and they all belong to our sangha, the dharma is [...]
mars 2013
Right where you are
Preparing for a new voyage today: I'll be heading in a few hours for retreat near Lisbon. I'll cross national borders and time zones, shift from one set of cultural habits and ways to another, enter the realm of a language other than the two I usually speak. And yet... Amid all our differences, we'll [...]
One small effort (without fanfare)
Since my last post here... ...life... and spring without fanfare. And meanwhile: Whatever snow there was is now long gone. And the sun is as loyal as ever, behind or before the clouds. And night, too, falling upon us quietly. All without fanfare. In the Métro full of commuters the other morning a man was [...]
The Next Big Thing: »Here We Are »
Here's my self-interview for the ongoing Next Big Thing project connecting us all and reflecting each of us and our work, gem-to-gem, around the net. Each writer/artist gets the same set of questions to answer about his/her current work. I was tagged to join the project by Pansy Mauer-Alvarez, who was tagged by Dylan Harris [...]
Francis
I'm not a Catholic, nor a Christian for that matter, nor an ardent follower of the Vatican. Among my favorite "pope" moments recently was the terrific Nanni Moretti film "Habeus Papum" starring Michel Piccoli as the man-who-wouldn't-be-pope. I couldn't help but chuckle while thinking of that delightful film's impeccable staging of the conclave, vote, white [...]
Another load of laundry
Something came up yesterday that I just knew was the next entry here. Involved with some other preoccupation at the time, I had no choice but to put off the noting of that brilliant moment. And now as I sit before the screen to finally make record of it, whatever "it" was has escaped me. [...]
Filling the silence
During a pause while the dentist was doing work in my mouth today, he was telling me something (I can't now recall what). I asked him why he was telling me this. He replied, to my surprise, "Je meuble le silence." (I'm filling the silence.) So much in the news, in the movies, on television, [...]
