Zen sentiments of T.S. Eliot

I was studying a yoga textbook last night, as part of my ongoing teacher-training program, when I came across this passage quoted from T.S. Eliot:

At the still point of the turning world. Neither flesh nor fleshness;
Neither from nor towards; at the still point, there the dance is,
But neither arrest nor movement. And do not call it fixity,
Where past and future are gathered. Neither movement from nor towards,
Neither ascent nor decline. Except for the point, the still point,
There would be no dance, and there is only the dance.

Sounds like a pretty god description of practice.

Gassho,
Wiliam

Hi William;

Is that a typo or is there really a god ?


gassho, Shokai

Oops! That is a typo. I cannot, however, answer your question as to whether there is really a god.gassho2

Wasn't really looking for an answer :D

Great stuff William.

You know, TS once considered becoming a Buddhist. However, he opted for the Anglican path, deciding that he couldn't penetrate the cultural aspect of Asian Buddhism.

Here's another quote you might light up with. From 'Amongst School Children', by WB Yeats:

O chestnut-tree, great-rooted blossomer,
Are you the leaf, the blossom or the bole?
O body swayed to music, O brightening glance,
How can we know the dancer from the dance?

Gassho
Myozan

Beautiful. Thank you.

Gassho,

Kyonin

Eliot's Dry Salvages from the Four Quarters appealed to me years ago in school because of his description of time and the rhythms of the tides - his description of the futureless future... And now it speaks to me even more.

I live not far from the shoals bearing this name. Actually have kayaked past them. I can visualize the power of his writing.

William, Myozan, Shokai, Kyonin - thank you all for this thread. Very moving.

Deep bows
Yugen

Myozan: thank you for the Yeats! I shared it with a good friend who is getting her doctorate in poetry. Of course, she was already familiar with the passage, but it was nice to be able to speak to her in her own language for a short time.
Gassho,
William