The description of words as traps resonates. I’m feeling much the same way about the stories we build out of words, too. We explore or present only one side of a situation; the other sides—too many to grasp—are left unexplored and unsaid. I find myself wondering what the point of stories are. Perhaps that’s adjacent to asking how we would label something in the absence of its current or conventional label …
I was also reminded of a thorny passage from the Genjokoan:
“When you see forms or hear sounds, fully engaging body-and-mind, you intuit dharma intimately. Unlike things and their reflections in the mirror, and unlike the moon and its reflection in the water, when one side is illumined, the other side is dark.”
For a moment, I thought it made sense. Then, the thought vanished. Oh well.
Thanks for these reflections Taishin. I love the question about the point of stories. perhaps they help us connect to others, perhaps they allow us to exercise that creative capacity that we have and allow us to make meaning. I have found that knowing there are other sides to the story I am weaving, helps me take myself less seriously and allows the story to change, and evolve, and embrace the other sides too.
I was thinking about that image of the moon from the genjokoan the entire time I was writing this piece.
When one side is realized, the other side is dark.
I love that we get to stand in the dark mystery of being together, and illuminate some parts of reality across time and space.
Which of these words is a trap?
oh, my apologies i started an email to you about meeting up to talk dharma, but never sent it. i would love to! i got hung up trying to think of a text. i am interested in spending time with Dongshan's Five Ranks or the Precious Mirror Samadhi...But the Genjikoan is also a great place to have a dharma conversation.
Thank you for this, Kisei.
The description of words as traps resonates. I’m feeling much the same way about the stories we build out of words, too. We explore or present only one side of a situation; the other sides—too many to grasp—are left unexplored and unsaid. I find myself wondering what the point of stories are. Perhaps that’s adjacent to asking how we would label something in the absence of its current or conventional label …
I was also reminded of a thorny passage from the Genjokoan:
“When you see forms or hear sounds, fully engaging body-and-mind, you intuit dharma intimately. Unlike things and their reflections in the mirror, and unlike the moon and its reflection in the water, when one side is illumined, the other side is dark.”
For a moment, I thought it made sense. Then, the thought vanished. Oh well.
Thanks for these reflections Taishin. I love the question about the point of stories. perhaps they help us connect to others, perhaps they allow us to exercise that creative capacity that we have and allow us to make meaning. I have found that knowing there are other sides to the story I am weaving, helps me take myself less seriously and allows the story to change, and evolve, and embrace the other sides too.
I was thinking about that image of the moon from the genjokoan the entire time I was writing this piece.
When one side is realized, the other side is dark.
I love that we get to stand in the dark mystery of being together, and illuminate some parts of reality across time and space.
Which of these words is a trap?
oh, my apologies i started an email to you about meeting up to talk dharma, but never sent it. i would love to! i got hung up trying to think of a text. i am interested in spending time with Dongshan's Five Ranks or the Precious Mirror Samadhi...But the Genjikoan is also a great place to have a dharma conversation.
Thank you, Kisei. I'll email you later today to follow up about a Dharma conversation.
In the meantime, you ask, "Which of these words is a trap?" My first thought was that none of them are!