Why did Bodhidharma Come from the West?

More on this famous Zen koan...

Mastery isn't reserved....

"Mastery isn't reserved for the super talented. It's available to anyone who is willing to get on the path and stay on it."
— George Leonard, The Life We Are Given

Barn's burnt down.

"Barn's burnt down. Now I can see the moon."
—Masahide (click here for more explanation)

Do unto others....

Do onto others as they would have you do unto them.
—The Platinum Rule

Thy will be done....

Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven —Matthew 6:10

One must have a mind of winter...

One must have a mind of winter
To regard the frost and the boughs
Of the pine-trees crusted with snow;

And have been cold a long time
To behold the junipers shagged with ice,
The spruces rough in the distant glitter

Of the January sun; and not to think
Of any misery in the sound of the wind,
In the sound of a few leaves,

Which is the sound of the land
Full of the same wind
That is blowing in the same bare place

For the listener, who listens in the snow,
And, nothing himself, beholds
Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is.
—The Snow Man, Wallace Stevens

Life can work....

"It's the fact that we want something...that makes our relationships so unsatisfactory. In a way, Life can work—but not from the standpoint that we are going to do something that will make it work."— Charlotte Joko Beck in Everyday Zen

Unnatural

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?

...make me an instrument of Your peace.

"Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love." —St. Francis of Assisi

He will take great delight in you....

"He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice in you with singing."—Zephaniah 3:17

Consider how the lilies grow.

"Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these." —Luke 12:26-28

May the Lord smile on you...

"May the Lord smile on you
and be gracious to you."
—Numbers 6:25

Great Catch

Argu-ment

...walk by the spirit.

"If we live by the Spirit,

let us also walk by the Spirit."

–Galatians 5:25

No Mountain

Another Version

Web Man

Two Figures

The Man Inside the Happy Man

Max to airport video

Portland Max Light Rail to airport

Saw wonderful collection at Portland Art Museum guided by my relative/docent Sharon Tarlow. Thanks to Larry & Sharon for two special days in Portland.

NYTimes in five star bed

Chip off the block

Larry's tools

Japanese waterfall with tortoise, crane, and koi rocks

Japanese fence

In a Zen way

Confucious says

Portland tea house