this work

"This work of deeply wondering about everything that is going on --- wondering who and what one actually is, and whether there might actually be something beyond the endless struggles of daily life --- can never be the result of any imposed outward pressure. Pressure only results in more pressure. A free spirit of inquiry isn't the result of anything. It is there, spontaneously, when we are not dominated by systems of inner and outer control. Let me give an example. When one needs to listen to a strange sound, doesn't one naturally stop making noise? One cannot listen carefully as long as one is talking, thinking, or moving about inattentively. The need to listen carefully creates its own stillness. When one actually realizes how inattentive one is and begins to wonder about what is actually going on inside and out, doesn't one have to look and listen quietly?"
TONI PACKER.

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A certain song has it that Burlington Bertie rises at six-thirty...here, i'm usually up earlier...during winter months it means, despite the cold, that yoga and zazen, start in the dark, sometimes with candlelight...sometimes with firelight...sometimes just streetlight shining thru uncurtained windows...and so peaceful and quiet......NOW, at April's end, edging into summer, i can practice and then sunbathe in warmth from behind south-east-facing windows......TODAY, like Burlington Bertie, i rose at six-thirty...i sat and sipped warm water and lemon...then, into asana practice...then, a cup of hot chicory which i nursed and contemplated in my hands...then, zazen...and then, breakfast.....By this time it's edging t'wards nine...shakuhachi and koto - LULLABY FOR THE MOON...here and there - THE COLLECTED SONGS OF COLD MOUNTAIN......And clouds seem to be dissolving in the blue skies....[ GOJI-JI - Thursday / 30 / april / 2015 ]

THE "TRACEY EMIN" BENCH : a work in progress

 

 

 

 

 

 

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bernard hemensley

wednesday / 29 / april / 2015

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L'ASSEMBLAGE : 3 RECENTLY FOUND OBJECTS

 

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golden goji hermitage

28 / april /2015

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FAMILY MATTERS (6)...GATHERING OF THE CLAN : 26 / APRIL / 2015

 

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golden goji hermitage

27 / april / 2015

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the emergence and blossoming of understanding

"The emergence and blossoming of understanding, love, and intelligence has nothing to do with any tradition, no matter how ancient or impressive --- it has nothing to do with time. It happens on its own when a human being questions, wonders, inquires, listens, and looks silently without getting stuck in fear, pleasure, and pain. When self-concern is quiet, in abeyance, heaven and earth are open. The mystery, the essence of all life, is not separate from the silent openness of simple listening."
TONI PACKER - (The Work of This Moment. Tuttle, 1995)

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flowers for buddha

 

 

 

 

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bernard hemensley

sunday /26 / april / 2015

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