I've been drawing the same thing for 51 years. Actually maybe 53. If one does different things, they are actually doing the same thing. How can one be doing different if they are just skimming the surface of one thing or another.
So I drove past some graffiti on a pole and it was terrible graffiti. The spray can must have been old and it was all watery. And then it dripped and dripped, and later it aged. Terrible. Yet in spite of all that, it was beautiful because of the way that nature had acted upon it (and told this story).
Then I wondered how I could make judgments about a drawing. As I drove past some grass with weeds I realized that nothing in nature is poorly designed. Even when we've finished a meal our plate is perfectly composed. Why? Because a natural force (eating) organized it. So what are doing when our art (or our life?) isn't working? Being unnatural?
Reflections on Talks on Buddha's Lists
During a recent Appamada Intensive our students gave talks on Buddha's lists. Here are my reflections on their talks.
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Rhinoceros Fan (an infamous koan) One day Yanguan called to his attendant, "Bring me the rhinoceros fan." The attendant said, ...
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So I told my wife about my discovery of the day and she said it simply was not true — some things in nature are more beautiful than others. So I said, "look at your plate (we were through with dinner)... it's beautiful." And then she said, "look at your's, it's not!" (and it wasn't).
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