| Please remove your shoes and enter quietly. |
| Our first lecture is on Kajiwara Sora. The very first time I encountered this individual, I was struck by her affinity with the Zen masters of ancient and modern China and Japan: Sengai the artist/monk, whom I've mentioned elsewhere, or the "Great Fool", the childlike, solitary Ryōkan, or Sora's travelling companion and fellow perambulatory genius, Bashō, or the unpredictable and endlessly imaginative Yun Men, or Shakyamuni Buddha himself, who did not say a word to Maha-Kasyapa on Vulture Peak. Some or all of these figures will be discussed more thoroughly in future lectures. Of course, ready correspondence can also be found with no paucity of great thinkers outside the Chan Buddhist tradition -- cf. Zhuangzi and Laozi of formative Daoism, St Francis of Assisi, Matthew 18:1-10, Socrates' second speech in Plato's Phaedrus ("he is like a bird fluttering and looking upward and careless of the world below; and he is therefore thought to be mad"). Kajiwara-san can go toe-to-toe with any of these worthy ancients and not give up an inch. Can you see that? Plenty of people underestimate her, calling her cute and so forth, but aren't thoroughgoing and don't understand her or see who she really is. If this is your attitude, how can you be called a true OINCer? We approach Kajiwara on the proper plane; our business is neither condescension nor apotheosis, but taking her for what she is, appreciating the Sora-ethos and taking care to harmonize with it in each of our daily actions. Now, go meditate on emptiness or something. |
| Your speech is that of an academic when your audience is composed of commoners. Mostly. |
| Drawing distinctions, eh, Mesousa? I spare you thirty lashes. Today's lecture is on Sengai. Born in 1750, Sengai was a prominent Zen priest, becoming 123rd abbot of the Shōfukuji Temple (in Fukuoka!), which was built in 1195 by Eisai, the man who brought Zen (and tea!) to Japan. Good biography here. Whatever his preeminence in the Japanese religious scene, he made his greatest mark with his paintings and poems. It seems that nearly every modern book on Zen features at least one of his works. His most famous painting is this one:  which has been described as his rendering of the basic forms of the universe.  This painting of a frog is incribed: If by the practice of sitting, one becomes a Buddha.....  Beside this painting of a tree, Sengai writes: Though there must be winds That it does not like,--- Still the willow! This poem accompanies a painting of a traveler: The wind-blown Smoke of Mount Fuji Vanishing far away! Who knows the destiny Of my thought? In my view nothing more profound than this has ever been stated. Referring to the most famous of all haiku, Bashō's "sound of water": If there were a pond hereabouts, I would jump in And let Bashō hear the splash. Further testament to Sengai's personality are the variety of anecdotes that feature him, including several of the famous "101 Zen Stories". This story I cull from a collection of death poems: Sengai was asked by one of his pupils if he had anything to say before passing away. He replied, "I don't want to die." His pupils, astonished to hear this, asked, "What was that you said?" "I really don't want to die," repeated Sengai. It's no wonder his students were surprised; most Zen masters near the end of their lives emphasize impermanence, the uselessness of attachment to life, and scold their disciples for grieving. "When he died in 1837, at the age of eight-eight, all classes of society---the priesthood, the peasants, nobility, samurai, and merchants---mourned the passing of a rare friend." Sengai's death poem: He who comes knows only his coming He who goes knows only his end To be saved from the chasm Why cling to the cliff? Clouds floating low Never know where the breezes will blow them. Go meditate on Cy Young's 511 wins. |
| Took me a while to pick up on this -- so in Chapter 32 they're discussing kanji that they misread as several kana bunched together: Kajiwara's? Yep, the character for "Buddha". |
More topics from this board
Poll: » Favorite characterGulfStandard - Jan 12, 2010 |
14 |
by Babycowland
»»
Aug 22, 2010 4:27 PM |
|
Poll: » Most insane characterGulfStandard - Dec 18, 2009 |
6 |
by GulfStandard
»»
Jan 15, 2010 9:41 PM |
|
» full color'SGulfStandard - May 11, 2009 |
6 |
by GulfStandard
»»
Oct 29, 2009 9:29 AM |
|
» War RoomGulfStandard - Sep 14, 2009 |
0 |
by GulfStandard
»»
Sep 14, 2009 10:09 PM |
|
» Obfuscation is No CrimeGulfStandard - Sep 14, 2009 |
0 |
by GulfStandard
»»
Sep 14, 2009 3:17 PM |