Japanese Garden — Photo-Artistry by kenne
A bridge over the pond
Shadows on the water
Hanging branches
A place in the shade
To think.
An attentive mind
Seeking meaning
As words draft away
In a light breeze
Gone in the dry air.
Goldfish swim
Near the surface
Passing under
The bridge shadow
I watch pass and go.
A vision through the lens
Sees what is truly seen
But has no meaning
Until poems are written
On the tree of life.
— kenne
Mt. Lemmon Trail — Image by kenne
Each day I try to develop myself beyond the conventional level of existence. I transcend the light of being through threads of space and time allowing me to see truth in different reflections. Most people adopt on view for the sake of security. I prefer to use all views than to maintain artificial boundaries to have one view. By utilizing all views, I can know the truth in much the same way I come to know a butterfly, a wildflower. To do otherwise is to limit oneself to what is always true.
As I shift a point of view, I have the freedom to transcend any actuality which I may encounter. By doing so, I’m able to accept the freedom and responsibility of being human and become more authentic in my expression, therefore better able to actualize my existence. By being flexible in my point of view, I’m better able to include as much of reality as possible.
— kenne
Arizona Wildflower Painting by kenne
Things are as they are
There is no past or future
Only the present.
— kenne
Sneezeweed & Ferns On Mt. Lemmon — Image by kenne
— Alan Watts
Ragleaf Bahia Wildflower and Honey Bee — Image by kenne
“When an ordinary man attains knowledge, he is a sage;
when a sage attains understanding, he is an ordinary man.”
— Anonymous
Mexican Fritillary Butterfly on Mahogany Milkweed — Image by kenne
The only Zen you can find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you bring up there.
(First Posted July 11, 2008)
The Water Flows
It’s hard for me to believe that it was six weeks ago
when I ordered the materials and began the preliminary
preparation for a fountain in our backyard.
There are many reasons why so long,
not the least of which was the delayed delivery of
the fountain pedestal, which finally can in yesterday.
By working with nature, you can look into your own nature.
“The secret of life is enjoying
the passage of time
Any fool can do it”
kenne
Images by kenne
“Everybody is ‘you’. Everybody is ‘I’. That’s our name. We all share that.”
— Alan Watts
Bee On Desert Chicory Wildflower — Computer Art by kenne
“If public lands come under greater pressure to be opened for exploitation and use in the twenty-first century, it will be the local people, the watershed people, who will prove to be the last and possibly most effective line of defense.” — Gary Snyder
Enso by kenne
— Ranzan
Yellow Columbine — Grunge Art by kenne
— Steve Hagen
Somewhere in the Santa Catalina Mountains, Continuing the Process of Becoming
Knowing and Not-Knowing
We are all concerned with our competence and the competence of others. Most people are interested in being more competent and surrounding themselves with competent people. The key to our level of competence is our level of knowledge.
In Zen practice, knowledge involves the interplay between knowing and not-knowing. However, it is crucial not to conclude that not-knowing means you don’t know. On the contrary, not-knowing means not being limited to what you know.
Maybe things are this way, but perhaps they are not. (Philosophically, it can be important to help people realize what they do not know is a necessary part of knowledge. But such a paradoxical thought, from a learning and teaching point of view, is confronted with the inarticulate expertise of not knowing that you know is a dead end. Thus, we are left with the only position for developing competence being that of knowing what you know.)
Accessing information can help us cultivate our interplay between knowing and not-knowing. As an information seeker and frequent Internet search person, I know we can find information on all things thinkable. Today we have access to more information than ever before, but not all information is reliable.
I shared some thoughts on “Teaching in the Age of Google in an earlier blog entry.” So, if you have a question, want to know how to do something; like to learn how something works; or research a topic, well, just “Google It!” But, how do we determine who are the reliable authorities?
— kenne
Caliche Globemallow — Image by kenne
My legacy –
What will it be?
Flowers in spring,
The cuckoo in summer,
And the crimson maples
Of autumn …
— Ryokan
Painted Lady — Zen Art by kenne
“Once upon a time, I dreamt I was a butterfly,
fluttering hither and thither,
to all intents and purposes a butterfly.
I was conscious only of my happiness as a butterfly,
unaware that I was myself. Soon I awaked,
and there I was, veritably myself again.
Now I do not know whether I was then
a man dreaming I was a butterfly,
or whether I am now a butterfly,
dreaming I am a man.”
— Zhuangzi
Computer Art by kenne
— Oliver Wendall Holmes
Granddaughter Katelyn’s Zen Moment (March 15, 2011) — Image by kenne
— kenne
Becoming is Superior to Being 