Tag Archives: Nothing

Natsukashii*

Posted on March 5, 2011 by Touch2Touch

In the longing that starts one on the way of Zen is a kind of homesickness — — Peter Matthiessen, The Snow Leopard (* Natsukashii: important concept in Japanese, containing feelings of nostalgia, longing, missing, wishing for, homesickness. Another important Japanese … Continue reading →

Posted in Etcetera, Wisdom, Zen | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

From Ireland… and Stockbridge…

Posted on February 25, 2011 by Touch2Touch

It’s been a long while — to be exact, since Christmas — since we heard from Berna, our Irish correspondent over in County Kildare. Here she is, walking again at Clongowes, in what’s becoming spring in Ireland, while we in … Continue reading →

Posted in Etcetera, Poetry, Quotes | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Not Nobody, Not Nohow! You Can Tell It to the Bog —

Posted on January 28, 2011 by Touch2Touch

The ENSO, the symbol for Zen in Japanese, means nothing. Not meaningless, no. Its meaning is NOTHING. Null. A void. Emptiness. You’ve seen the Enso here before, in Just Who Do You Think You are Anyway? Well, who are you, anyway? Are … Continue reading →

Posted in Etcetera, Personal Essay, Wisdom, Zen | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Just Who Do You Think You Are Anyway?

Posted on January 24, 2011 by Touch2Touch

For all Thomas Merton’s wry words about Zen, he admired its practices, and was a meditator himself. By the end of his life he’d lost just about all illusions about himself. Zen will do that to you, cut you down … Continue reading →

Posted in Etcetera, Zen | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments