As the bee collects nectar and departs without injuring the flower, or its color or its scent, so let the sage dwell in the village.
— Dhammapada
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Enseignante Zen et poète, Sensei Amy “Tu es cela” Hollowell est née et a grandi à Minneapolis, aux Etats-Unis. Arrivée en France en 1981 pour étudier la littérature et l’histoire, elle y est restée, s’installant à Paris, où elle élève ses deux enfants et gagne sa vie en tant que journaliste.
The Zen teacher and poet Amy “Tu es cela” Hollowell Sensei was born and raised in Minneapolis, but came to France in 1981 to study literature and history and has lived in Paris ever since, raising her two children and making a living as a journalist.
This is how the koan (Mumonkan, case 38) goes: Goso said, « To give an example, it is like a buffalo passing through a window. Its head, horns, and four legs have all passed through. Why is it that its tail cannot? » Koans are not interested in (dead) symbols, but only in pointing to the (living) essence. So at this very moment: What is that tail that does not pass through? Or: What color is the buffalo?
Thanks for that comment.
It’s a nice comment, nothing harsh or destructive in it.
I thought about the koan of the bull breaking through the fence. (Never seriously worked with that koan though). The tail that can not pass – I thought – could be a symbol for subtlety.
And it is such a horror for an angry bull to try to be subtle.
Does that make any sense?
The "cycle of rebirth" is every moment, every breath. Everything is always new.
To be attached to things is illusion — whether it be to a house (or no house), a bowl (or no bowl), a name (or no name), a role (or no role), a position (or no position), a thought (or no thought), a belief (or no belief), a life (or no life), a birth (or no birth), a death (or no death).
Being homeless implied not owning a place to sleep, abandoning ones family, not having a job, not carrying money, not trading, not having sexual relationships and so on, The viniya is a long list of things a monk is not allowed to do.
He just does his alms round in the village and leaves for the next village; except in the monsoon season when he is allowed to stay in one place, because the roads are a mess.
This is part of the monk’s ambition to escape the cycle of rebirth. He wants to cut all his ties to society and make sure that the next time he dies it will be for good.
But as there is no such thing as a cycle of rebirth all he achieves is that his one single life is lived without normal human relationships.
Religious beliefs can damage people.