Phantom City

The Gods and Scents of the Eastern Mountains

2011-03-20T23:38:00.005-05:00

The world of the Eastern Mountains above the Philosopher's path was illuminated by an iridescent glow. We are protected here in Kyoto, surrounded by mountains, each of which has been sanctified. The deities of the mountains protect us from the outside world while enchanting the world within. Immediately over the mountains in Tohoku lies disaster and turmoil. Further beyond lies the Asian

Melancholy of the Evening

2010-10-03T09:01:00.009-05:00

Melancholy of the Evening -- The forest, which widens deceased -- And shadows are around it, like hedges. The deer comes trembling out of hidden places, While a brook glides very quiet And follows ferns and ancient stones And gleams silverly from tangled foliage. Soon one hears it in black gorges - Perhaps, also that stars already shine. The dark plain seems endless, Scattered

Sommersneige

2010-10-02T22:51:00.003-05:00

We must wait, always. This life is a waiting. A constant and long hesitation, among all the daily hesitations. Life promises, but we don’t know what...but is DOES promise, and we all know that. Life

Open to Everything, Attached to Nothing

2006-11-06T16:45:00.001-05:00

The mind, which calcifies with age, can only reverse this process by unlearning and staying open. Becoming an expert at life means cutting off most of life. The expert can only see certain things, say certain things, believe certain things. We think we have learned our lessons and keep refining these axioms until we only have one street to walk down, one vista, one friend. There is a sutble but

2006-09-15T13:54:00.002-05:00

Elizabeth Bishop IN THE WAITING ROOM In Worcester, Massachusetts,I went with Aunt Consuelo to keep her dentist's appointment and sat and waited for herin the dentist's waiting room. It was winter. It got dark early. The waiting room was full of grown-up people, arctics and overcoats, lamps and magazines. My aunt was inside what seemed like a long time and while I waited and

Esho Funi: The Oneness of Self and Environment

2006-05-15T13:58:00.001-05:00

(image by Chris Resko) For some reason, although it was pure hell, I harken back to my 20th year a lot and how, no matter how dismal the scenery, I was constantly tracking the terrain of my psyche, reiterating or rejecting last week's decisions and platitudes, always uneasy, always in pain, and always, at least, fighting tooth and nail to know who I really am. Maybe I've uncovered some of

Strange Principle: My Life

2006-04-04T14:02:00.001-05:00

I come from a family of very humble people- the kind of humbleness that is part true humbleness and part fear. I was raised to never brag, to work hard but doubt myself, to be passive in the name of 'going with the flow'.These values were never overtly spoken, but modeled every day in both my parents. The rationalization was that stating what you wanted and go for it was egocentric, aggressive,

Becoming More Yourself: The Strange Principle

2006-03-27T13:26:00.001-05:00

When we listen to ourselves, when we listen to our own lives, when we fundamentally respect our own lives, we see that we naturally expand with wisdom and right action into our environments.When we follow the trends, traditions, mores, and rules of others and do what we think others want us to do just for the sake of conformity, we fundamentally disrespect our own lives. Even a thought or action

Parable of the Phantom City

2006-02-14T17:09:00.003-05:00

Excerpt from the 7th chapter of the Lotus Sutra, Phantom City. Let us suppose there is a stretch of bad road five hundred yojanas long, steep and difficult, wild and deserted, with no inhabitants around, a truly fearful place. And suppose there are a number of people who want to pass over this road so they can reach a place where there are rare treasures. They have a leader, of comprehensive

2006-02-07T13:55:00.000-05:00

February 25 marks the fifth-year anniversary of the day I received my Gohonzon, a scrolled mandala inscribed by a 12th century monk named Nichiren Daishonin, which serves as the focal point of my Buddhist practice. The Gohonzon reflects the true law of life- acts as a mirror to true self. We chant Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, enacting the mystic law within our lives and the universe. We practice to

WAKING UP THE PHANTOM

2006-02-01T18:04:00.001-05:00

In the spirit of starting ahead of schedule, I introduce Phantom City into the blogosphere, at least two years before it will become an imprint of my publishing company Inconundrum Press. Maybe here we will decide what stories will be told, what ideas surfaced and discussed, and maybe here we will start to find ourselves with a location to discuss Buddhism as literature, as academic work, as life