Two Further Readings from the Birdsong Sutra
(1) Every birdsong I hear preaches to me the principle of individual freedom. And yet, when you watch what is going on around the bird feeder, the birds are clearly very much aware of a definite pecking order. A sparrow who ignores it is liable to get a starling's sharp beak up its arse. The feisty little acrobat the blue tit seems to enjoy skirting the edges of the Law. There are four or five starlings, squawking and fighting like juvenile delinquents, each of them very nearly as big as a blackbird, and yet the solitary blackbird ignores them totally. He evidently knows that a blackbird is above a starling in the pecking order, regardless of numbers, and the starlings know it too.
(2) Praise be to the second law of thermodynamics, and thanks again to bubbha for bringing it to my attention. I put out sunflower seeds and peanuts, whose energy, in its never-ending quest to disperse itself spontaneously, manifests itself as the chirps of sparrows, the tsee-tsee-tsee of blue-tits, and the fluting song of the blackbird.
(2) Praise be to the second law of thermodynamics, and thanks again to bubbha for bringing it to my attention. I put out sunflower seeds and peanuts, whose energy, in its never-ending quest to disperse itself spontaneously, manifests itself as the chirps of sparrows, the tsee-tsee-tsee of blue-tits, and the fluting song of the blackbird.
posted by Mike Cross at 3:08 PM
5 Comments:
Thank you, Mike.
No, I have not refused a face to face meeting with you. I said I wanted time to think about it.
"The fiery breath of virtual demons et cetera, et cetera..." is just the product of your very vivid, very excellent, very poetic imagination.
I feel that things would have been a lot more simple if you, aka Floating Weed, and Peter, aka Ordinary Bloke, had been more straight from the beginning about who your teacher was. That recognition has been part of my blogger learning curve. In future I shall be more wary of responding to comments from people who don't show their profile.
For the moment, Mike, Don't hold your breath.
Floating Weed, a few years ago a friend of mine took exception to something that Mike Cross had written in an email. Sitting across the table from him in a greasy spoon I suggested to my friend that he challenge Mike Cross to a full contact knock down contest. He knew by my expression and the tone of my voice that I was only joking. He knew what I meant.
I am not suggesting for one moment that you should challenge Mike Cross to a full contact knock down contest in a dojo and knock six bells out of him, shake his hand and then buy him a pint down the pub. No! I am not saying that because you cannot see my face and you cannot hear my voice so you cannot tell whether or not I am joking. But Floating Weed, when it comes to posting you are well able to stand up for yourself. Remember that Mike Cross used to pop up all over the place in Nishijima Roshi’s blog.
Feed next door by all means but if you see any tasty seeds in Mike’s garden hop across the fence and take them. Splash around in his bird bath and squawk at his backdoor, but out of deference don’t crap on his head.
As for craping on heads I don’t think I ever craped on yours Mike, well not intentionally anyway. And Mike, believe it or not it was only a couple of weeks ago during a chance meeting on a bus that I discovered the “true” identity of Floating Weed. The issue of my teacher never arose until Zero (where is he by the way?) wrote something about Mike Luetchford that I thought was derogatory.
Incidentally in the same email to my friend you said something that made a deep impression on me. You said zazen was like hunger for porridge. Like hunger for porridge!
Cheers and best wishes
Pete
Thank you, Pete.
Yes, be hungry for porride. In other words, don't give yourself airs. When I say that to others, I am saying it first and foremost to myself.
Floating Weed gave himself the airs of one who knew. And do you know what? I fell for it. I believed him.
But don't say that a man called Michael Tait made a fool of me. No. I made a fool of myself.
With renewed clarity, I see that it doesn't do us any good to give ourself airs. Teachers who have realized the truth already, preach it, inevitably, without pretense. Students who seek the truth should not give themselves airs of having realized it already, but should go begging on hands and knees with an empty cup.
When I go to visit my teacher next Tuesday, I shall endeavor to be like that, knowing nothing, with an empty cup.
Thank you Mike/Floating Weed/Foolish Thing.
Clever insincerity can produce a lot of beautiful verbal images.
But true sincerity does not know itself.
MJL taught you the words, using my words, that the Buddha-nature is being without.
Being without what? You have not begun to understand, not even in a dream.
Between you, me, and our red, red, friend, I'll let you into a secret: I don't either.
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