michael lambe

Tae-san sent me these pictures from our cherry-blossom viewing party a couple of weeks ago. I think she has a good eye for the big picture…
The girl sitting behind me in the picture below is Yoko. For the last two years, I’ve been working every Saturday morning at a mental clinic and she is one of the staff there. But soon she’s moving back to Tokyo and so today was the last day she attended the English Conversation Group… I shall miss that smile brightening up my Saturday mornings. But all things, like the cherry blossom, must pass. (slightly deeper than usual sigh)
On my way home from the clinic I stopped by Houzouji for the latest meditation:

Fairly typical Buddhist stock-in-trade this time:

人間の_________________にんげんの_____________ningen no
限りない欲______________かぎりないよく____________kagirinai yoku
制止するのは____________せいしするのは___________seishi suru no ha
足るを知る心____________たるをしるこころ___________taru wo shiru kokoro

Which can be roughly translated as:

The heart that knows satisfaction
Is that which restrains
the ceaseless desire
of mankind

I say roughly because I’m taking the easy way out of translating it back to front, which sounds more natural in English, but affects the emphasis a tad. Anyway, you get the idea. It’s the basic Buddhist teaching that all suffering comes from desire and in restraining desire we heal oursleves of suffering. No matter how many times I repeat this to myself, I’m still not feeling it though.