Buoyant Moon

A buoyant moon. The unbearable lightness of the heavy load of life.

Remembering a song: Bob Dylan's "Delia"

Delia was a gambling girl, gambled all around,
Delia was a gambling girl, she laid her money down.
All the friends I ever had are gone.

Delia's dear ol' mother took a trip out West,
When she returned, little Delia gone to rest.
All the friends I ever had are gone.

Delia's daddy weeped, Delia's momma moaned,
Wouldn't have been so bad if the poor girl died at home.
All the friends I ever had are gone.

Curtis' looking high, Curtis' looking low,
He shot poor Delia down with a cruel forty-four.
All the friends I ever had are gone.

High up on the housetops, high as I can see,
Looking for them rounders, looking out for me.
All the friends I ever had are gone.

Men in Atlanta, tryin' to pass for white,
Delia's in the graveyard, boys, six feet out of sight.
All the friends I ever had are gone.

Judge says to Curtis, ";What's this noise about?";
";All about them rounders, Judge, tryin' to cut me out.";
All the friends I ever had are gone.

Curtis said to the judge, ";What might be my fine?";
Judge says, ";Poor boy, you got ninety-nine.";
All the friends I ever had are gone.

Curtis' in the jail house, drinking from an old tin cup,
Delia's in the graveyard, she ain't gettin' up.
All the friends I ever had are gone.

Delia, oh Delia, how can it be?
You loved all them rounders, never did love me.
All the friends I ever had are gone.

Delia, oh Delia, how can it be?
You wanted all them rounders, never had time for me.
All the friends I ever had are gone.

Buy this work - Giclee print. Ink drawing combined with photographic image.

Fishes In the Air

Years ago I had a very interesting dream: I dreamed of a golden yellow, smart looking tropical fish, elegantly swarm cross the room - she took her time. And the air is like water to her.

Maybe, in the eyes of fish's, water is like air to them;
To all beings who live in different places, water, or air, means different things.
To us, water is water, air is air; to amphibian beings, there is no boundary between water and air.

We are subject to what we are used to.

Ink drawing combined with photographic image.

Mind is Like Still Water

Mind is like a still water. It could have two meanings:

Firstly, mind is stable (after some sort of practice or life experience), not easily swayed, just like the still water. It is so clam; it won't be bothered by the confusions and emotions of the self and the world.

Secondly, mind is like a peaceful lake, it is so still, it reflects of the sky and the surroundings: the birds flying by, clouds moving, everything coming and going, whatsoever.

I like both, especially the latter.

Original ink calligraphy. 12 by 18 inches.

Moon Dance

Have you ever seen moon-dance? When I was a kid, on my first trip stayed overnight in other people's house, I saw the moon jumped up and down in the sky - of course, I was in a car - but the vivid image remains still.

A moon dances,
Frog jump;
A baby cries;
Young kids try their first kisses.

Some people are dying,
Some people are living,
Some people are in between.

Moon Dance, ink painting combined with photographic image.

Wanderers in the World

"You and me, we are all wanderers (travelers) in the world;

If we ever meet again, whether we can recognize each other, really doesn't matter too much."

That is the rough meaning of this beautiful poem. It was from an ancient poet Bai Juyi (772-846): 白居易《琵琶行》.

Original ink calligraphy combined with photographic image.

Small Drop in a Big Ocean

We are just a small drop in a big ocean. Things change. Nothing we can really hold on to. Including ourselves.

We are all going back to the big ocean one day. Then, we may become clouds, or rains, or ice, who knows what.

A small drop. Beautifully dissolves into the big sea.

Giclee print. Ink drawing combined with photographic image.

Sorrow

It is hard, very hard, to fathom other people's deepest sorrow - the sorrow of lost, the sorrow of regret, the sorrow of things will never be the same. But at least we can try to understand, even just a tiny bit.

Sorrow is like the cloudy sky - you are under it, you have no place to hide. But one day, maybe, after quite a long time, the sky will reopen again, and you will see the sunshine behind it. It is always there. Even in your sorrow.

May the day come soon...

Chinese Calligraphy "Sorrow", combined with photography image. In Chinese this word actually is composed by two parts: the top is "no, not"; the bottom is "heart". When your heart is not your heart any more, when you cannot feel a thing any more because it is beyond the capacity of your heart and mind, you are very sad, and it is deeper than just being sad. That is sorrow.

Follow the Flow 02

Sometimes, in Shambhala training, after an intensive period of meditation, there would be a time for a special practice: "aimless wondering". You relax, and rest in the nature. You are totally open; you perceive everything as it is.

Original calligraphy, sumi ink on paper. The size is 18 X 12 inches. Price is $108.

Buy a greeting card of this work

Follow the Flow

The other day I was at a busy office, I was very curious about a nice lady – how she can face all the stresses and still keep the calmness and the smile. She told me: “Oh, I just follow the flow.”

There is a term in Chinese that is similar to this meaning: 隨緣. It is called “follow the conditions.” You don’t struggle too much with it. However, it doesn’t mean you don’t care – you do care, but you also don’t sweat too much.

Follow the flow – face the constant changes in life, they are inevitable sometimes. You know the situations clearly. And you maintain a good mind. You see everything as it is and learn from it. You don’t let all the hopes and fears wear you out.

Follow the flow; relax; see how it goes.

For Those Who Are Suffering...

These days, my heart goes to the people who suffered from the cyclone Nargis and earthquake in China. I can't stop thinking about them. The images of their faces and their tears strike everyone who sees them. This is a dark time for the people there.

Even though we all know a bit of "impermanence", when it really happens, it still very hard to swallow. But sadness wouldn't do anything. We need to do something more positive, more beneficial, for ourselves and for others.

As the leader of Shambhala Buddhists community, the Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche has said today:

"We become comfortable in our own environment, and we feel emotionally detached when a disaster strikes someone else. Meditation on compassion is the ideal practice under such circumstances. Sometimes we imagine compassion to be a noble and spiritual activity. In fact, it is our natural response to the world when we relax our mind enough to truly take in what is going on around us.

One of the most beneficial meditations in Buddhism is to contemplate how fortunate we are to have this precious life. Death comes without warning. Therefore we should not waste time in meaningless mental activity, when we could be engaging in compassion and love. The point is to remind ourselves that this human life is a rich opportunity; we should use it wisely, which means doing what our mind naturally yearns to do -- extend itself to others with kindness and care."

For those who are suffering. Watercolor, 11 by 15 inches.

A Spring Haiku

A shame to pick it,

a shame to leave it——

the violet.


By Nao-jo

Giclee print: Digital image combined with Chinese calligraphy "Chi".

Suchness

Suchness. 如如。

"Whatever we talk about at any moment is within our mind. Everything is within our mind. But usually we think there are many things: there is this, and this, and this out there. In the cosmos there are many stars, but right now we can only reach the moon. In a few years we may reach some other planets, and eventually we may reach some other solar system. In Buddhism, mind and being are one, not different. As there is no limit to cosmic being, there is no limit to our mind; our mind reaches everywhere. It already includes the stars, so our mind is not just our mind. It is something greater than the small mind that we think is our mind."

Shunryu Suzuki: Branching Streams Flow in the Darkness.

Giclee print combines with calligraphy and photographic image. The size can be varied.

The Joy of Living

Slow down; take a deep breath. The joy of living is so precious... the sun is shining; the rain will fall. Everything comes, and everything goes.

What do you want? And what do you want it for...... Are you just cheating yourself?

Giclee print combined with ink painting and photographic image. The size is 9 by 12 in. It can be a larger print format as well.

Different Point of Views

If we have different point of views, we need to go beyond and talk - we need to see that we are standing on the same base, same ground, otherwise, we will never be able to communicate to each other.

How sad human being treat each other. How sad the way we use our intelligence as the tool for ego!

Ink on paper, the size is 9 by 12 inches.

Circle

How are you Life? Here we are again.
There is no way out; there is no place to hide.
The law of Karma is so simple and so straightforward.
Hello old friend, here we are again!

Watercolor and sumi ink on Japanese Shikishi board, Size is 10.75" by 9.5".