Animal Control

man walks outside, talks to birds.
blue jay flies across field, talks to other blue jays.

next day -
man walks outside, sees 1,000 blue jays.
man says, "good idea to acknowledge
ineffable law of cause and effect!"

next day -
man walks outside, sees 10,000 blue jays.
man says, "what goes around comes around!"

next day -
man walks outside, sees Animal Control.
"I am teaching birds law of causation," man says.
Animal Control says, "too many birds, need reduce population."
man says, "blue jays very smart, might eat galaxy."
Animal Control points big gun at birds.

10,000 blue jays fly into sky, turn into giant Thunderbird.
Thunderbird flaps wings, entire Universe is swallowed by black hole.

no more Animal Control.



ji bo

dragon

Karma Blues

sitting like pretzel bad for knees.
shouting like Ma-tsu bad for throat.
chasing red thread bad for reputation.
attaching to emptiness bad for karma.
bowing to Buddha bad for back.

blink and miss it.
relax.

Nothing holds still in this ongoing process of sincerity. What happens never happens enough. It is, instead, possessed always of a restless hunger. Fact feeding hungry fact, occurrence opens into its own directions, all appearance vanishing into appearance pregnant through and through. Sincere, generative, hunger-driven - this is what the ancient Chinese understood to be the nature of our Cosmos.

David Hinton: Hunger Mountain

when eating fish
beware of bones.
when eating hamburger
beware of fat.
when eating egg
beware of shell.
when eating apple
beware of worm.
when eating watermelon
beware of seeds.
when eating mushroom
beware of poison.
when eating time
beware of black holes.

when eating Universe -
beware of self.

to build house, use hammer.
to turn screw, use screwdriver.
to steer boat, use rudder.
to fly plane, use propeller.
to cut grass, use lawnmower.
to find nirvana, use mantra.
to find self, use mind.

when self is found -
lose self.


ji bo.

"Technology, in particular, is our collective attempt to control the conditions of our existence on this earth. We have been trying to remold the earth so that it is completely adapted to serve our purposes, until everything becomes subject to our will, a 'resource' that we can use. Ironically, though, this hasn't been providing the sense of security and meaning we seek. We have become more anxious, not less. That's because technology can be a great means, but in itself it's a poor goal."

David R. Loy (in Tricycle magazine)

poet of the day

John Brandi.

worse than a drunk
mosquito -
toothache.

ji bo

What was right yesterday
is wrong today.
In what is right today
how do you know it was not wrong yesterday?
There is no right and wrong,
no predicting gain or loss.
Unable to change their tune,
those who are foolish glue down bridges of a lute.
Those who are wise get to the source
but keep wandering about for long.
Only when you are neither wise nor foolish
can you be called one who has the way.


Master Ryokan

.........

waitingwaitingwaiting
    waitingwaiting
        waiting -
          for what?

on Thanksgiving Day
be sure
to bow
to Universe.


ji bo

Rx zero

those who know
do not speak
did Lao Tzu know?

no reliance on scriptures
10,000,000 words about Heart Sutra.

"from the first, not a thing"
1,000,000 books about Zen.

without a sound
inhale the Universe
exhale
repeat as needed.


ji bo

haicoo

circle
not yet complete -
autumn leaves.


ji bo

The Flower Is Not A Flower

The flower is not a flower,
The fog is not fog.
Midnight comes,
Dawn goes,
Coming like a spring dream, it does not stay long;
Going like the morning clouds, there is no place to meet it.

Bai Juyi (772-846)

Coming, all is clear, no doubt about it.
Going, all is clear, without a doubt.
     What, then, is it all?


Hosshin (death poem, 13th Century)

passing through
dialects
I don't understand


Taneda Santoka

"I see a vision of a great rucksack revolution thousands or even millions of Americans wandering around with rucksacks, going up mountains to pray, making children laugh and old men glad, making young girls happy and old girls happier, all of 'em Zen lunatics who go about writing poems that happen to appear in their heads for no reason and also by being kind and also by strange unexpected acts keep giving visions of eternal freedom to everybody and all living creatures"

Jack Kerouac, The Dharma Bums

What is Tao?

It is just this.

It cannot be rendered into speech.

If you insist on an explanation,

This means exactly this. 

Lu Tung Pin

beetniks

counter culture
now main culture
new clothes
gray hair
volvo wagon
life insurance
golf clubs.

need new deep root culture:
no habit energy mind
dirt between toes
tea over wood fire
homemade sake
talk to earth worms
listen to sparkling stars
swim in creek
feel wind on skin
laugh at wrinkles
write poems for root vegetables.

name for new movement?

the beet generation!

girl sings
in shower
shower sings back!

in 400 years
everybody is famous.
in 800 years
everybody is genius.
in 1600 years
everybody is billionaire.
in 3200 years
everybody is robot.
in 6400 years
everybody is bored.

to avoid becoming robot
talk to plants, animals, and clouds.
then listen.

when lonely, visit friend.
when happy, visit dance floor.
when sad, visit therapist.
when thirsty, visit water fountain.
when hungry, visit noodle shop.
when ignorant, visit school teacher.
when enlightened, visit Universe.

when zero?

corn grows by itself, no education.
when corn is ripe - time for big picnic!
everybody invited.


ji bo

when cloud walking
in misty mountains
always have safe place
to land.


ji bo

hello, Tofu Dog

Tofu Dog looks at moon,
moon looks at Tofu Dog.
Tofu dog barks at moon,
moon remains silent.
no problem.

Master Kong's lesson No. 49

Habit energy mind very dangerous!

Mind buzzes like angry bees
going in and out
six cave doors.

Thoughts stomp like dinosaurs,
leave big footprints
inside poor mind.

Important to take vacation
from habit energy mind
starting right now.

Inhale, breathe in Universe.
Exhale, breathe out Universe.
Tao will be fine until vacation over.

No need for travel agent!

when traveling
good idea to leave
identity at home.


ji bo

making tea
requires
nothing special.


ji bo

happy-ness

eat eggs, heart attack.
eat rice, arsenic.
eat grapes, pesticides.
eat beef, hormones.
eat fish, mercury.
eat corn, genetic modification.
eat candy, cavities.
eat Universe, no problem!



ji bo

10,000 monkeys sitting on island.
Big Monkey says, "Universe is like banana."
Little Big Monkey says, "Universe is like coconut."
Buddha Monkey says, "Universe is like empty space."
Tao Monkey says, "Universe is like flowing water."
Lawyer Monkey says, "Universe is like court room."
Doctor Monkey says, "Universe is like hospital."

Master Kong waves stick and island disappears.
"Too much noise," he says.

Master Kong's motto

"No Universe,
no problem!"

Universe if Flux

"The principle of flux pervades everything from the macrocosm to the microcosm.... From this it follows that I am composed of a bundle of waves or flux." Tawara Yusaku 

monk throws bone to Tofu Dog.
Tofu Dog sniffs bone and walks away.
Master Kong picks up bone
hits monk on top of head.
monk barks three times.
Master Kong says, "Zen is one big dog show!"

mind bombs

who taught
birds
to sing?

do trees
worry?

no ear
no sound -
no big bang?

how many thoughts
do seven billion people have
in one hour?

how high is
shortest mountain?

is end of beginning
a new beginning?