Dragons see palaces (heavy rain is falling) In the Mountains and Waters Sutra, Dogen says that when human beings see water, fish and dragons see palaces. He doesn’t say that the fish and dragons are mistaken. He also says that although human beings see mountains as still, they are always walking. Within this ocean, are […]
Tag archives: drawing & painting
Happy Valentine’s Day 2020
Kusen
After zazen when we chant the Heart Sutra we are chanting the short condensed version – heart/essence – of the massively longer Great Real Wisdom Perfection Sutras (an early Mahayana work begun around the 1st Century). The Japanese title is Maka hannya haramita shin gyo. What we chant is the most common version chanted in […]
Small sketchbook drawings Ardfern – perception/intuition
flux – interchanging – equalising
Working on a new artist film – Directionless
I’ve been continuing the themes of the Journey to Nowhere series with a second film, called Directionless at the moment, which I have started editing, adjusting clips, cropping, trying out combinations and planning ‘scenes’, though like the previous film there is no clear plot from a to b, nor dialogue at the present. Detached from […]
Spatial trail – neither above nor sideways
Smeared Across Time – Kusen Collaboration with John Fraser
John’s Kusen Poetry Dogen’s ‘Everyday Life’ [adapted] On Unseen MountainA scarecrow isNot in vain Commentary: The scarecrow standing over a small rice paddy would often be dressed in black, like a monk. He protects that which feeds all beings. So, Dogen is talking about the practitioner and the dharma, and the relationship between them. Because […]
Volumeless
Full Dynamic – Kusen collaboration with John Fraser
John’s Kusen When we do zazen, we may imagine that we are sitting quietly. But our weight is dropping down into the earth. We are pushing the earth with all our strength. And the earth is pushing back. We can feel this push up our spine, up through the top of our head. There is […]