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To
study the Way
is to study the self.
To study the self
is to forget the self.
To forget the self
is to be enlightened
by the ten thousand things.
Eihei Dogen
Homage to
John Daido Loori, Roshi
for inspiration
and
teachings.
 
Moon in a Dewdrop:
writings of Zen Master Dogen
Eihei Dogen
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dogen on painted cakes and hunger ...
zen saying: painted cakes do not satisfy hunger
Meaning, painted cakes aren't the real thing, they only describe the
real thing. Implying that for the serious seeker of Truth, creative work
is a vanity,
a pointless pursuit.
It is true that the tendency to identify with one's creative expressions
can cause the ego to inflate, with all the suffering that comes by
default.
But identification with any human activity carries this danger.
The question: What is the self that expresses in self-expression?
is our lifeboat in these dangerous waters.
The monk Dogen saw the bigger picture.
He said: Painted cakes do satisfy hunger.
Aside from painted
cakes, there is no way to satisfy hunger.
Aside from the painted cakes we make, artists and writers and educators
and web builders have no way to express their ideas and inspirations.
Aside from the process of making painted cakes we have no insight
into
our creativity and what fosters it or sabotages it.
Aside from the painted cakes we perceive, what so-called Reality is
there?
If Reality is REAL, it must be whole
and undivided. Our painted cakes are therefore nondual expressions of
the truth – whether we know it or not, and whether we like it or not.
The ten thousand things are painted cakes awaiting the glance of an
awakened wondering mind. This vast and all-embracing perspective lifts
our creative work into the realm of sacred practice, something many
artisans - including this one - are very conscious of and deeply
committed to. Our works are 'painted cakes' and amazingly, they do satisfy hunger.
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poinciana pod
(pretending
not to be Real)
miriam louisa simons
hui-neng
original face
seeing/drawing
the
way of nen
the zen arts
as creative expression
the zen of creativity
zen arts
zen arts retreats |