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Thread: Eating a tangerine...

  1. #1

    Eating a tangerine...

    Hi there!

    I want to share a passage from Brad Warner's "Hardcore Zen" that I read several months ago and is really meaningful to me, as it really "boils it down" for me lately.
    (Those who already read the book - please consider it as a "reminder".)
    My wife had given me a mikan, a kind of Japanese tangerine, for lunch that day—and I sat at my desk and started to peel it. As I watched the peel come free from the fruit, I was struck by how beautiful it was. It was one tangerine, perfect in its own way. The orange color leapt out at me, as if it was glowing from the inside, brighter than a neon light. The intensity of its beauty was almost painful to me. I’ve seen some beautiful sights in my life: sunset over the Pacific from the western shore of Maui, Mount Kilimanjaro rising above the plain as elephants and giraffes saunter by in the foreground, the tranquil dignity of ancient Buddhist temples. But at that moment nothing could compare to that little tangerine in my hands. I felt so grateful just to be me, just to be sitting at my desk, just to be able to peel and taste and eat that tangerine. No one else would ever taste that tangerine.
    When I got back home I sent Nishijima another e-mail telling him about the tangerine and thanking him for setting me straight. The next day I got his reply: “Eating a tangerine is real enlightenment.” It was something he really didn’t need to say. Still, I was glad he did.


    This passage pops into my mind from time to time, it really puts my practice in a nutshell for me.
    Hope you guys enjoy(ed) it, too!

    Gassho,

    Timo
    no thing needs to be added

  2. #2
    Mp
    Guest
    Beautiful, thank you Timo.

    Gassho
    Michael

  3. #3
    Brad was also the adviser to a little arty movie made a few years ago, a murder mystery set in a Zen Sangha, called "Zen Noir". The film featured one "inscrutable" Zen Master who said nothing for most of the film, but would simply hold up oranges to whatever he was asked ...



    Finally, toward the end of the film, the "Mickey Spillane" detective (who has fallen in love with a monk named Jane) asks the Master about life and death and the darn oranges ...



    Gassho, J
    Last edited by Jundo; 11-17-2012 at 01:55 AM.
    ALL OF LIFE IS OUR TEMPLE

  4. #4
    Very nicely put,

    Gassho
    Tom
    Trying to go straight ahead on a narrow mountain path which has ninety-three curves

  5. #5
    Nindo
    Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by Jundo View Post
    Brad was also the adviser to a little arty movie made a few years ago, a murder mystery set in a Zen Sangha, called "Zen Noir". The film featured one "inscrutable" Zen Master who said nothing for most of the film, but would simply hold up oranges to whatever he was asked ...
    Awesome ... I'll have to watch the whole thing some time.

  6. #6
    Thanks a lot for posting this video, Jundo!

    Gassho,

    Timo
    no thing needs to be added

  7. #7
    Mp
    Guest
    The videos are fantastic Jundo, thank you.

    Gassho
    Michael

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by LimoLama View Post
    Hi there!

    I want to share a passage from Brad Warner's "Hardcore Zen" that I read several months ago and is really meaningful to me, as it really "boils it down" for me lately.
    (Those who already read the book - please consider it as a "reminder".)


    This passage pops into my mind from time to time, it really puts my practice in a nutshell for me.
    Hope you guys enjoy(ed) it, too!

    Gassho,

    Timo


    Very nice, Timo.

    Total amercement. Totally present.


    Gassho
    Last edited by galen; 11-18-2012 at 07:29 PM.
    Nothing Special

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Jundo View Post
    Brad was also the adviser to a little arty movie made a few years ago, a murder mystery set in a Zen Sangha, called "Zen Noir". The film featured one "inscrutable" Zen Master who said nothing for most of the film, but would simply hold up oranges to whatever he was asked ...



    Finally, toward the end of the film, the "Mickey Spillane" detective (who has fallen in love with a monk named Jane) asks the Master about life and death and the darn oranges ...



    Gassho, J


    Excellent orangeness... thank you.


    Gassho
    Nothing Special

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