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More Zen than I expected

/ Ryder / Leave a comment

A different kind of "sit"

A different kind of “sit” (Source: YouTube)

So,  chapters 4 and 5 are pretty much set.

Chapter 4 was pretty straightforward. Tell the story. Relive the story. Wonder at the story.

Turns out Chapter 5 is a heck of a lot more “Zen” than I expected. Turns out, what was really going on in my mind during that ride was not unlike what you experience while doing zazen — only this time on two wheels, going fast. In traffic. In France.

Should be interesting, to see what others have to say about it.

I can’t say I’m un-happy. Gives me something more to think about, as I finish up the week… and start thinking about the weekend.

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Two or three old women came and asked…

/ Ryder / Leave a comment

Two or three old women came and asked him [Suzuki Shosan] about the essence of Buddhism.

The Master said: “I do not know anything that I can teach you.”

After a while he said suddenly: “You will die, you will die. Never forget the fact of dying…”

From : Death Was His Koan: The Samurai-Zen of Suzuki Shosan By Winston L. King (P.285)

It looks so harmless on a web page

… and in all honesty, that’s pretty much how I felt, one fine spring afternoon, on the back of a motorcycle flying down a highway near Paris.

What happened that day crystallized a whole lot that I’d observed about myself, doing business with the French, and the practical uses of Zen.

And the book is nearing completion . . . ready in early 2015.  So stay tuned.