November 2009
51 posts
“In the beginning a person drinks sake. In the next stage, sake drinks sake. ...”
– Kosho Uchiyama Roshi, 1997
My friend Paul Durham from Black Lab pointed out to me tonight that the fact that I’m discontent all the time with whatever is going on in front of me has nothing to do with whether or not I’m able to be creative.
He’s right.
I realized that I’d connected these two things. I’ve created a lifetime habit of assuming that I use my creativity as a way to cover up the...
It is getting to the point where all actions are becoming equivalent to me.
Of course, if I am busy designing a plastic toy, or negotiating to buy a company, or I am playing with my daughter, or I am sitting cross legged in the morning at 7:00AM, the material result and the feelings are obviously different.
But on another level, the result for me is the same. They are all actions that lead to a...
New Kidrobot USA site is live at http://www.kidrobot.com. A few bugs today and it is left justified for some reason, all of which should be fixed momentarily. We’ve got a new backend software system that should speed ordering and make the site quicker to navigate. Looks nice too!
“The degree of separation from the reality of life appears as suffering and...”
– Uchiyama Roshi, “How to Cook Your Life”, 1956.
“A dish is not necessarily superior because it is prepared with choice...”
– Zen Master Dogen, “Instructions for the Zen Cook”, Japan, 1237 A.D.
Kidrobot.jp is now live!
WatchInspiration for neon for our London store.
“I do not live my life to have fun. The way I experience the meaning and value...”
– Uchiyama Roshi, How to Cook Your Life, 1970.
When we begin to watch our own minds turn, we begin to notice that there is a self that is separate from our thoughts. This is obvious and logical. If I can observe myself thinking, then who am I that is doing the observing?
The issue is, we almost immediately also notice that the mind doesn’t stop thinking. And in and amongst the noise of our thoughts we forget to watch our minds...
Uchiyama Roshi writes that finding meaning in life is realizing an impossible contradiction – that all things fall apart, but at the same time, we are also subject to the law of cause and effect.
This means that if we get hooked into what we’re doing, what sneakers we’re wearing, the art we’re creating, getting rich, getting famous, keeping our jobs, making our children...
