If, of all outstretched hands, I grasped that of the sitting practice, it is because it brings me, by its great silence, the space to breathe, the space I need.
Everywhere else, this silence is available, offered, identical, but it shows up after a journey through noise, words, gestures…
The one that I had made, by my very existence, and that I could not follow again, even if it meant entering under a portico indicating “spirituality”.
And in sitting, again, the Outstretched Hand.
Notes & Silence 
In these matters, the only hand to be trusted is that which offers no tradition, no doctrine, and which does not want to pull you toward other persons.
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Huang Po.
Sounds a lot
Like you
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I’ll assume that is a compliment.
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It is.
I’m so surprised you have never read his teachings.
Blunt, sharp, radical, witty.
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And fun
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Nope. Never read anything of his. I’m dipping into Dogen now and then, when I fancy a giggle…!
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Dogen.
I’m impressed.
By him…he managed to have enough credibility on your eyes for a sustained « dipping ».
Hope you like it,
And can explain me a thing or two about what he says.
Stuffed with contradictions as you like them..
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Any explanation would be just as contradictory. I suspect he spoke with, through, and to, intuition.
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I hope you appréciate Dogen
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Any attempt at explaining Dogen is losing the point.
Or maybe I’m just stupid.
In both cases, I’ ve stopped trying.
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I think you have just said what I said about intuition, just with different words…!
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