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To Write Something

1 April 2006, 1 pm | Koan

To write something and leave it behind us,
It is but a dream.
When we awake we know
There is not even anyone to read it.

— Ikkyu [via]

The same day I read Owen’s pondering over the lack of comments on deeply personal posts (plus his follow-up), I came across the koan above. My first reaction was, “How appropriate for blogging.”

But that did not sit very well with me. And so I waited. (In the spirit of the namesake of this Journal, I let the old cow chew on the cud for awhile to see what she’d spit out.)

Then the next day, I remembered one of my favorite verses. It is from John 3:8 where Jesus is speaking with Nicodemus.

The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.

[draw a heart]

If one writes from the heart, as in the spirit of love and giving and sharing, regardless of motives, expectations, and possible rewards, the Spirit will carry it along His wind to use as He wills, to send His grace to those who feel the breeze.

And so, I beg to differ partially with the koan above from Zen Buddhism. This koan aptly applies to much of what is written on the internet, or even in print, but not all. There is always Someone to read it.

Trackbacks

  1. Seventy-three men sailed up from the San Francisco Bay Rolled off of their ship, and here's what they had to say "We're callin' everyone to ride along to another shore We can laugh our lives away and be free...

    ∼ πλ · 4 April 2006, 12 am · at CowPi ¬

Comments

  1. Christian and well known author Madeleine L’Engle, in her book Walk on Water, Arts and Faith as well as in one of her Crosswicks Journals notes that no writers to be unread. Interesting. So, even private journal writers write with the desire to communicate.

    ∼ πλ · 1 April 2006, 1 pm · by Owen ¬

  2. So beautifully put mark—it sort of puts a pointed finger on one of the pulse points at which Buddhism and Christianity cannot meet—-the chasm between the two at points like these seems unbridgeable.

    I believe that God—in being a perfect intelligence is ultimately EFFICIENT and in that no effort in good faith—or in bad for that matter—is ever, ever wasted.

    Love this. Thank you for it tonight and for your WONDERFUL comment on my blog—I want to respond but it has been a strange and wonderful and draining day and I’m not up to the task.

    Nice to meet you.

    ∼ πλ · 1 April 2006, 8 pm · by Jennifer ¬

  3. Hello Mark,

    I found your journal because I was looking for the exact two St. Theresa of Avila quotes that you had in your archive… and then I visited your page about yourself, and then I began to read journal entries.

    It was a real gift to me to find your site…thank you for being here! Also, I am pleased to say that while I have had ocasion to be math impaired… I did get quite a giggle out of your input on the two ways that people respond… you are in league with the dentists of the world also my friend.

    Could I ask about your quote about drinking the cup to the last drop… did you write that? If not, who did? and can I quote you? And also… the prayer listed below the cup quote…?I thought it was great.

    Yes, you are read… and now bookmarked and there is a Polish lady in Newport, MI married to Bob for 30 yrs. with sons: Matt 19, and Chris 25 — who appreciates your witt, style, poetry and reflections, and shares an afinity to playing with words and writing also… and who has happily added you to the list writers that she makes time to read! You have a gift.

    Thanks,
    Kathy

    ∼ πλ · 1 April 2006, 8 pm · by Kathy - from Newport, MI ¬

  4. Kathy — Thank you for your wonderful comment. (That includes everyone else too!) I try my best to give credit due for any quotes or stories or whatever. The quote you ask about:

    “The cup of sorrow and the cup of joy are poured into the cup of our life. To be fully human, we must drink it all down to the last drop.”

    This is mine, sort of. The first sentence is a paraphrase or synopsis of the book “Can You Drink the Cup?” by Henry Nouwen. He implies the second sentence, but it is more influenced by another book, “Poverty of Spirit” by Johannes Baptist Metz. I highly recommend both of these books. They have greatly influenced my spirituality.

    ∼ πλ · 2 April 2006, 4 pm · by Mark ¬

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