FishCountingWater
At some point I accepted that, in a world of creeping gloom, maybe I’d be more useful as a spot of light.
Read moreCategory Archives: Religion & Philosophy
Timetown: Happy Solstice
Despair and the Road to the Bamboo Gate
Master Ikkyū sits by the well plinking at his lute. Sōgi waits patiently for a tune to emerge but none does. Finally he clears his throat. “Yes, Sōgi?” “Good morning, Master. I have a request.” The Master continues at the lute, to no end Sōgi can discern. “Go on.” Sōgi sits on the packed earth before Ikkyū. “They say you
Read moreQuantum Enlightenment and the Watched Pot
Sōgi bows before Ikkyū. “Master Dōken rebuked me this morning,” he says. “What did you do this time?” replies Ikkyū. “Nothing. I merely asked why the bird sings in its gilded cage.” Ikkyū sighs. “What was the Master doing?” Sōgi reflects for a moment. “At the time he seemed rather agitated at a pot of water.” “What did he say
Read moreBeltane 2019: Labellum (Orchidelirium)
Happy Beltane from the Pit…
Read moreUPDATED: Quantum Mechanics and a “death” question
If I die, am I really dead?
Read moreHeavenly blue – Vernal equinox 2019
Happy Equinox from the Pit…
Read moreWinter Solstice 2018
Happy Solstice from the Pit…
Read moreEquinox
Autumnal Equinox 2018
Read moreIkkyū and Sōgi discuss creativity and the infinite: a koan
“Output is finite,” says Sōgi. “Input is eternal.” Sōgi sits at a small table. Before him are several papers covered in numbers, formulas, scraps of text, and … well, doodles. “What’s all this?” asks Ikkyū. “A meditation on creativity and the infinite,” Sōgi replied. Ikkyū spends a moment looking over the materials before his young friend. “You’ll pardon me for
Read moreProgressive, intellectual Christians: what do you believe?
One thing I have always wanted to ask one of my SJC friends is this: what do you actually believe about your religion, literally?
Read moreIkkyū and Sōgi on Art and Enlightenment: a koan
How can a thing be both path and obstacle at once?
Read moreThere is no future: the ironic peace of learned hopelessness (#zenofdoc)
We must be prepared to laugh with the universe at the banality of our own immolation. Full moon. Snowfield, vast beneath the mountain: to understand the truth of people, study their contradictions. This morning I posted this little koan (minus graphic) to Facebook: I’m hardly the first to trot out a “there is no future” Zen meme. My grasp of
Read moreHere comes the sun: Summer Solstice 2018
Happy Solstice from the staff of Scholars & Rogues…
Read moreLet’s dance: Spring Equinox 2018
Happy Equinox from the staff at S&R…
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lullaby pit 