The Way

This morning, I read a touching life quote - one that is both simple and difficult. It's still on my mind, especially the note on the way - that we are not just on it, but: in it. That we are made of it.

And so I now returned to the full quote, to add it here, together with a "way"-photo I once took, and now came across in my files:

“Every morning I vow to be grateful for the precious gift of my human birth. It’s a big gift, and it includes a lot of stuff I never particularly wanted for my birthday. Some of the things in the package I wish I could exchange for a different size or color. But I want to find out what it means to be a human being — my curiosity remains intense even as I get older — so I say thanks for the whole thing. It’s all of a piece.

In thirteenth-century Japan, Zen Master Dogen wrote, ‘The Way is basically perfect and all-pervading.’ I’m already in it. We are all in it; we are made of it.” 

via mindfulbalance

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listening to... "New Age Piano" playlist

reading... Tongues of the Ocean: "Addies House" by Helen Klonaris

the wisdom of no escape, or: from zen mind to this lousy world

from zen mind to the wisdom of no escape
Last year, there was one book that accompanied me almost through the whole year in reads and revisits of passages - i actually started to read it in November 2011: "Zen Mind, Beginners Mind". The classic zen book by the Shunryu Suzuki, who founded of the first western zen monastery. With its 147 pages, it's not a thick book by size. But it's like an ocean of thought, with chapters about Practice, Non-Dualism, Attitude, Self-Study, Emptiness, Attachment, Experience and so on. i blogged a bit more about it, here: Zen mind

For 2012, i looked for a similar-but-different book. and think i found it: "the wisdom of no escape" is written by Pema Chodron, an exceptional ordained nun and teacher. After reading her introduction to the book, i looked for a video, curious for her voice. And found several. The first includes an intro with a bio, and the second gives an idea of her humour and her thoughtfulness:

an interview with Pema Chodron (bio included)



and here some minutes from one of her talks. this one is on dealing with this world at large and in detail. listening to it made me think of my own former yoga teacher, who once joked about our excuses for not showing up at class: "too much snow in winter, too hot in summer, too busy at work, and isn't it neat that you can always find something, if you want... "

This lousy world

It's Monday, what are you reading?

i am currently reading:

Marcia Arrieta's poetry collection "triskelion, tiger moth, tangram, thyme". i looked for a stanza that communicates the content in the poet's own words. maybe this one:

sequesterd. islands. thinking.
building. dismantling. rebuilding the arch.
we continue the journey. watching as though.
the form. two forms. past/present. we search.

the second book looks like the formal counterpart to poetry: "Networks, Crowds, and Markets" is the suggested reading for a Coursera class "Social Network Analysis" i plan to take next month. the book is fascinating, especially with the direct references to our connected world (internet, e-mail, websites). and when typing the title and some of the chapter titles in a slightly different form, you see the connnection to the theme that also runs through Triskelion:

Networks. Crowds. Markets.
Reasoning. A Highly Connected World.
Paths and Connectivity.
Mechanisms Underlying.
Balance and Segregation.
What is a Game?

searching for the connections, for the pathway that leads beyond the layers. maybe that might sum it up, and also connect to the books i am reading since a while: Zen Mind; Beginner's Mind. i guess this will be my companion for the year, re-reading a page every day. some chapter titles, again put as poem:

Constancy. Transiency. Experience.
No Trace. No Dualism.
Breathing. Calmness.
Learn to study yourself.

there's more about it here: Zen Mind Radish Teachings.

also, i am reading some ebooks on the kindle, some pages in each of them each day - which seems a way to read that is both invited by the format of the books, and by the kindle which keeps the page open just at that point you leave it. i hadn't fully noticed this, but in one way, all of them could be woven into the theme of connections and questions, of searching and examining:

Sherry O'Keefe's "The Peppermint Bottle"
"Then something happens and the next thing I know I am on my knees, examining something minute, something telescopic:"


Daniela Elza's "Book of IT"
"it is looking for a needle
in a haystack
without knowing
what a needle looks like"


Fiona + Kaspalita's collection from "A River of Stones"
"Camomile tea in a coffee cup,
He asks me, "Raven,
What is time doing to us?"
- Raven Garland


(PS: all book are listed in my Goodreads page, with more details: "Dorothee is currently reading")

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this blog post is inspired by the blog series "It's Monday! What are you reading?" which is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. it's a blog initiative to share ones own reading and to see what others are currently reading. participating blogs are listed in this Linky Book List

What about you? What are your reads for this week?

zen and the empty city (global reading challenge)

Zen Mind
there's a book i am reading since last November: "Zen Mind, Beginners Mind". the classic zen book by the Shunryu Suzuki, the founded of the first western zen monastery. with its 147 pages, it's not a thick book by size. but it's like an ocean of thought, with chapters about Practice, Non-Dualism, Attitude, Self-Study, Emptiness, Attachment, Experience and so on. each chapter is but an entry door, and it definitely makes sense to combine the reading with actual zen or yoga practice iself. it's similar to something like swimming: despite all the books about it, you have to get your feet wet at some point to connect to water. and vice verca, while getting your feet wet, a book can be a guide in the big ocean, a pointer between the waves of daily life.

here's a (slightly shortened) quote from the Zen book, a "metazen" reflection on talking about zen:
The purpose of my talking is to give you some idea of the way, but actually, zen is not something to talk about, but something to practice. The best way is to practice without saying anything. If we understand this point, then talking about it will be one of our practices, and listening to the talk will also be practice. And we listen withouth trying to figure out some intellectual understanding, without trying to understand from just a one-sided view.

which leads to the book that sparked this blog entry:

The Empty City by Berit Ellingsen

most of the books about zen are non-fiction: biographies, introductions, collected lectures - but recently i arrived at a zen-novel, writen by Berit Ellingsen. It was an interview in Nonduality Magazine that made me curious for it, in it, Berit explains:

"The Empty City is a short novel about nondual awakening, becoming comfortable with silence and letting go of the past. Connected themes are questioning your own beliefs and what you regard as yourself. .. I wanted to write a novel about nondual awakening, where that was central to the story. There's a lot of nondual nonfiction and poetry, but little fiction. I was curious to see if it was possible to write at all." (interview link)

reading this, of course, made me curious for the narrative of Empty City. i finished it a week ago - it's a thought-provoking, vivid read, with short chapters that move through to different level of consciousness - there are dream sequences, past memories, the present - together, the chapters form a larger mosaic. it was one of the books that i didn't want to end yet, to move on, and on. i looked for a quote to put here, but like with physical mosaics, pulling out a single piece only hints briefly at the larger image.

reading through it also points out how used we are to the established forms of narrative, and it's both refreshing and at the same time perplexing in the best of senses to follow another format - the concept of the Koan comes to mind, the riddle-like stories or notes used in Zen-pracitce to provoke the mind. It also made me think of reading "Open City" by Teju Cole earlier this year, and the line i wrote back then refers to "Empty City," too: "It isn't the typical novel, it's more on the experimental side. While reading it, i looked for interviews with the author.." (here's the Open City blog post)

the book is available both as printed book and as e-book. i picked the e-book version, which makes it my second novel read on the kindle, the first was Wild - and i guess the intro picture shows it: it's too bad that e-books don't come with the cover image - especially that in this case, the cover feels like a physical part of the story mosaic, a part of the narrative almost.

summed up, i would definitely recommend it for readers who are a) into zen / yoga and/or b) into experimental writing. if you want to read an excerpt, the first chapters are online on the book website: Empty City.

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About me, more books, and Review Forward

For more about Berit Ellingsen and her writing, visit her author website

Some lines about me: I'm into roads, stories, places, crossings, and all the things they lead and connect to. I edit BluePrintReview and the blueprint book + lit blog. For more of my personal book review, click here: "Books", and for a bit more about me and the web projets i'm involved in, visit me at blueprint21. Apart from being an editor and blogger, I am also an author myself. My new book Worlds Apart just launched:

Worlds Apart - a true story about 2 friends, 2 journeys, and 10 life lessons:  
In the global world, a traveler from Europe and a teacher from Asia meet in the web, share their journeys, and the joys, longings, and life lessons that wait along the road. Captured in letters and photos that reach from China and India to Germany and the Mediterranean Sea, a dialogue across continents and cultures unfolds: Worl(d)s Apart

Review Forward: This book review is inspired by Review Forward, a new online initiative for authors & book bloggers. For more reviews, visit the facebook page or the twitter-stream.

island zen

today is the last of the island days. our flight home leaves this evening.

"i would like to take a piece of the island with me," i said on the bay walk. but how to do this? that's the question. carrying shells back home probably is the physical symbol for trying to hold on to the island rhythem and structure. 

in addition to the question, my horoscope noted, or rather warned:
"A frantic pace - valid for the next days: The tempo of events in your environment is likely to be too fast, and it will be difficult to avoid getting caught up in it. Nevertheless you should try sometimes to disconnect yourself from this frantic pace, because it may get to the point that you are continually distracted and unable to think properly."

which brought me back to a note and a link from last month. April 5th, this was, exactly a month ago, at home, the same question:

Thursday 5th of April
zen hacks

the multitude of options all around, and on the other hand, the longing for simplicity – that's what i thought about in the last days. i revisited the “zen habits” blog, and arrived here, at a list of suggestions how to simplify: zen habits/hacks.

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and like picking up shells, i am taking photos, to carry home.
four more hours. time to start packing things and thoughts.

blue stone water boxes

some small big moments from January:

Blue Fifth Review switched their header image for 2012 - and included an abstract photo variation of my "Source Code" image. it's online here, together with their Poetry Special: Blue Fith Review: Blue Five Notebook Series

the River of Stones project reached day 12 today - here is my collection of "stones"/moments so far, today is pink: p art ici patio n

not only is it a time of stones, it's also a time of Tumblrs. Rose Hunter started a Judd Box Tumblr, which also includes a quote that i found in a box. And Karyn Eisler started a Spas Baths Hot Springs Tumblr - it brought me back to a Roman moment from a while ago, which i tumblr-submitted. it's online now: Limes Therme

as different as the 4 moments are, all of them are about the beauty of small everyday moments, and basic structures and shapes, things we've seen thousands of times before: a circle, a box, a petal, water.. things that easily might be missed.

Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind

Zen Mind 
“Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind” – the classic zen book by Shunryu Suzuki, i picked it especially for the island time. it was up at Amazon on a special offer of “buy 4 english paperbacks for 15$”. and the Zen book, it’s wonderful. here’s the wiki description:

"Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind is a book of teachings by the late Shunryu Suzuki, a compilation of talks given to his satellite Zen center in Los Altos, California. Published in 1970 by Weatherhill, the book is not academic. These are frank and direct transcriptions of Suzukis' talks recorded by his student Marian Derby. Trudy Dixon and Richard Baker—Baker was Suzuki's successor—edited the talks by choosing those most relevant, arranging them into chapters. According to some, it has become a spiritual classic, helping readers to steer clear from the trappings of intellectualism."

from zen mind to radish teachings
with this book, i ordered it by title and mini-description, and then first started to read the book itself. around halfway in, i got curious about the Zen center and the time and started to google - and arrived at a wonderful page that is brimmming with background information, interviews with students and friends, and even with large excerpts of another book. the page is Cuke.com - an archival site related to the life and Zen teaching of Shunryu Suzuki, hosted by David Chadwik. the site comes with a quote page, and from there i arrived at the interview page - which includes this note in the list:

Ed Brown, excerpts from Tomato Blessings, Radish Teachings. Extensive.

Extensive it is, indeed. this link, and the others.

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& later that year: more zen reads
zen and the empty city (global reading challenge)