“Gratitude to Old Teachers” by Robert Bly
When we stride or stroll across the frozen lake,
We place our feet where they have never been.
We walk upon the unwalked. But we are uneasy.
Who is down there but our old teachers?
“Aikido Surprise” by Terry Dobson
A major turning point in my life came as an unexpected surprise one day in the middle of a quiet spring afternoon on a sleepy train in the suburbs of Tokyo.
It all started as the old train car was clanking and rattling over the rails. It was comparatively empty – a few housewives with their kids in tow, some old folks out shopping, a couple off-duty bartenders casually glancing through the sports section of the local newspaper. I was gazing absently at the drab houses and dusty hedgerows.
Then as the doors opened at one unremarkable station, the calm afternoon was suddenly shattered. A man on the platform bellowed at the top of his lungs, yelling violent, obscene, incomprehensible curses. Just before the doors closed, the still yelling man staggered into our car.
"The Explorer" (excerpt) — ‘THE SONG OF THE BIRD’ by Anthony de Mello
The explorer returned to his people, who were eager to know about the Amazon. But how could he ever put into words the feelings that flooded his heart when he saw exotic flowers and heard the night-sounds of the forest; when he sensed the danger of wild beasts or paddled his canoe over treacherous rapids?
“The Banquet” - A Sufi Story
A poor man dressed in rags came to the palace to attend the banquet. Out of courtesy he was admitted but, because of his tattered clothing, he was seated at the very end of the banquet table. By the time the platters arrived at his seat, there was no food left on them.
So he left the banquet, returning several hours later dressed in robes and jewels he had borrowed from a wealthy friend. This time he was brought immediately to the head of the table and, with great ceremony, food was brought to his seat first.
DRAWING: “Old Man 2” by Harkale-Linai
“Blue Mountain” by Li Bai (also known as Li Po or Li Bo) (701-762)
Why dwell in the Blue Mountain
I laugh without answering
The silence of water and blossoming flowers
A world beyond the red dust of living
Lu Dongbin's Yellow Millet Dream
At the moment when his mother gave him birth an unearthly perfume pervaded the house, and strains of celestial music were wafted from the sky, and a white crane from heaven flew down between the curtains of her bed and was seen no more. Even when a newly-born infant his frame was strong as metal, and his muscles hard as wood. The crown of his head formed a high dome resembling a crane's; his back was arched like that of a tortoise; his eyes were as brilliant as those of a phœnix; and his eyebrows extended on either side to meet the hair round the temples.
“The Turtle” by Chuang Tzu
Chuang Tzu with his bamboo pole was fishing in the Pu river. The prince of Chu sent two vice-chancellors with a formal document: “We hereby appoint you prime minister.” …
YOU’VE GOT TO LOVE CHUANG TZU
“Richard Seltzer tells this story of love”
Yale University surgeon named Richard Seltzer. Richard Seltzer tells this story of love.
“I stand by the bed where a young woman lies, her face post operative, her mouth twisted and palsy clownish. A tiny twig of the facial nerve, the one to the muscles of her mouth has been severed. She will be thus from now on. The surgeon had followed, with religious fervor, the curve of her flesh. I promise you that. Nevertheless, to remove the tumor from her cheek I had to cut the little nerve
“The Lord’s Prayer” — a contemporary translation from Aramaic by Neil Douglas-Klotz
Abwoon d’bwashmaya
O Birther! Father-Mother of the Cosmos/ you create all that moves in light.
Nethqadash shmakh
Focus your light within us–make it useful: as the rays of a beacon show the way.
Teytey malkuthakh
Create your reign of unity now–through our firey hearts and willing hands.
SUPPORT NEIL DOUGLAS-KLOTZ’S FINE EFFORTS
“The Pencil's Tale” — Author Unknown
An old pencil maker took his newest pencil aside, just before he was about to pack him into a box. Imagining the little fellow as a person he recalled a few things about the pencil.
“There are five things you need to know,” he said…