Merle,
Merle ascribed possession:
"i see your subhana has not replied.."
Cousin, she is not mine. And even if her response is not to reply, I will
still respect her nonetheless as a Master of the Diamond Sangha.
If you should then send her mail for a second, and even a third time, I will
continue to respect you, too. You bet I will!
If you give up, and don't even try the telephone, or send an email to the
general address of the zen group where she is in-residence as Teacher, I will
continue to respect you, also.
I'm guessing, but, ...I think a long-hand letter will draw an in-kind response.
There's nothing like seeing a person's handwriting. It's a gift to share.
You might also enclose a drawing. She might do the same. Wow! You lucky
devil! You have a communications-medium made to order, you two.
But just as some lineal background, keep in mind that in the old days of Zen in
Japan, it was hard to get inside the freakin' gate. And even then you had to
slump yourself over the porch outside the Zen hall for three days of fasting
before they gave you a bowl of cold rice each day outdoors, like a saucer of
milk to a feral stray cat.
After maybe three or four days, you were let in to a small room where other
wanderers were fighting to get in, too. You had to sit zazen in full decorum
with those slobs for five days or a week before you could enter the monks'
quarters, and then practice with them in the Main Hall. After perhaps a year
of sitting with the monks in the main hall, and following the daily life of the
work of the monastery, with its 90-day unbroken intensive training periods in
each Summer, and in each Winter, and monthly sesshin all the other seasons as
well, you might be allowed to see the teacher in his room. After a year! Or
maybe after five years. It depended on circumstances, and how many monks were
about.
The point is, that, now, all one has to do is pick up the telephone.
Maybe the Teacher is taking a few calls in the queue before yours.
It's possible. Rest assured that when you reach her, you will have her *FULL*
attention in that time. That's the way it always is.
Anyway, Subhana is your own. She and you are both artists, and I am just
learning. I can't get in to see her yet. You've got a calling card, and full
possession. I am a Novice, and don't yet know how to wear my robes, nor eat my
cold rice outdoors. Luckily, I handle the chopsticks better than my paintbrush.
Practicing portion-control, and watching my weight (diminish), I remain,
Yours!,
--Joe
;-)
> Merle Lester <merlewiitpom@...> wrote:
>
> joe..
>
> i see...it's all a matter of getting lost in the tangle...
> i see your subhana has not replied..
> i have my doubts she  ever will...
>
> Merle,
>
> Most new threads are made when we start a new one ourselves from scratch on a
> new topic.
>
> Some old ones are re-named to make a point; but when re-naming happens a lot,
> it's hard to follow a thread. People get lost, and start asking for
> repetition of what was already typed.
>
> --Joe
>
> > Merle Lester wrote:
> >
> >Â yes joe..
> > i know what a thread means!...
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