@shonin@c.im
Retiree and Buddhist nun
Avatar: old person in garden
Header pic: hermitary kitchen, sunshine coming through windows
I like to post my own stuff but also things we might like to know about. Such posts are not always uncritical endorsements. YMMV.
#InPlace 29
From the end of this pasture
she looks back: if there were
suddenly no hut, there would still be
grass, trees, stones and stream
Pasture with the little dog, late May. Everything here is exactly as it is.
The body and mind of the Buddha way is grass, trees, tiles and pebbles, as well as wind, rain, water and fire. — Dogen (tr. Tanahashi)
#InPlace 28
The young-old monk, watcher
over infants and mad crones,
gets a late spring offering —
handful of vinca blossoms
Jizo once greeted visitors to the homestead, but lost his head more than once as water hoses were hauled around the garden. In his new location at the hut he is a hermit, but has never left off his practice. The stone behind him was raised from the dry creek bed the preceding summer.
Firmly based on steadiness, it can't be surpassed.
A shining window below the green pines --
jade palaces or vermilion towers can't compare with it.
-- Shitou, "Song of the Grass-Roof Hut" in Taishō shinshū daizōkyō (1924-33) reprinted in Hongzhi, Cultivating the Empty Field, 2000, tr. Leighton and Yi Wu
#InPlace 27
Winds from river by day
winds from mountains at night
sing to cottonwood branches:
cottonwood branches clack back
Though the old woman has a cot in the hut and naps there often, she has seldom slept in it overnight. But she does lie long abed in the afternoons, attending the rustling leaves or rattling twigs.
The dharma does not rise up alone—it can’t emerge without reliance on the world. If I take up the challenge of speaking I must surely borrow the light and the dark, the form and the emptiness of the mountains and hills and the great earth, the call of the magpies and the cries of the crows. The water flows and the flowers blossom, brilliantly preaching without ceasing. In this way there is no restraint.
— Ziyong Chengru in The Hidden Lamp: Stories from Twenty-Five Centuries of Awakened Women, Caplow and Moon, 241
#InPlace 26
Dark of the year, altar lacks
flowers: a moss covered oak branch
makes do; in spring
she finds a spray of quince
Flowering quince goes well with the red altar cloth and bowls, so she enjoys the three weeks or so that the blossoms may be available. Still, every offering is quite right.
One day Daowu and Yunyan were out walking with Yaoshan, who pointed at two trees with his finger. One was healthy and the other was withered up. He asked Daowu, "Which is better, the withered tree or the healthy tree?" Daowu answered, "The healthy one is better." Yaoshan said, "So everything around it becomes bright and colorful." Then he asked Yunyan the same question. Yunyan said, "The withered tree is better." Yaoshan said, "So everything around it looks gray and withered up." An attendant named Gao appeared suddenly. Yaoshan asked him the same question. Gao said, "The withered one is withered and the healthy one is healthy." Yaoshan turned to Daowu and Yunyan and said, "You were both wrong."
-- Soto Zen Ancestors in China, James Mitchell, 62
#InPlace 25
Through the reed shade,
watch leaves fall in autumn,
branches rattle in winter, foliage
tremble in spring or droop in summer
Watching is part of her tea "ritual" in all seasons.
In spring, cherry blossoms.
In summer the cuckoo.
In autumn the moon.
In winter the snow, clear, cold.
— Dogen (after Tanahashi)
#InPlace 24
Ritual averse, yet she has such:
brewing tea of blackberry leaves,
chard, kale, squash leaves, maple blooms;
pour, settle, sip, sit
"Yard tea" steeping. Such tisanes are best dried and crumbled and then sealed away from air, 'tis true, but simply gathering the herbs and foliage and steeping them fresh works well enough for the purpose.
The Way does not have any particular form that can be cultivated. the Dharma does not have any particular form that can be validated. Just unrestricted no-recollection and no-thought, at all times everything is the Way.
— Wuzhu, Lidai fabao ji in The Teachings of Master Wuzhu 141 (Adamek)
Global Assessment of Migratory Freshwater Fishes | Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals
https://www.cms.int/publication/global-assessment-migratory-freshwater-fishes
www.cms.intGlobal Assessment of Migratory Freshwater Fishes | Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild AnimalsMigratory freshwater fish sustain food systems, cultures, and extraordinary biodiversity, yet many are declining rapidly. These species are highly susceptible to habitat loss, fragmentation, and overexploitation along their migratory routes, and many move across national boundaries during migration. Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals
Too much salt: water #desalination plants harm environment - U.N.
Scientists fight back against far-right plans to restrict #academicfreedom in #Germany
www.nature.comScientists fight back against far-right plans to restrict academic freedom in GermanyWith the far-right Alternative for Germany leading in polls for national and state elections, institutions are facing up to proposed restrictions on academic freedom.Replying to @Virginicus@universeodon.com
@Virginicus Indeed, as my last name is Bear.
#elNino Plumes - Seasonal Forecast - SEAS5
ECMWF | Charts
Record #heatwave scorches swaths of #US
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/05/heatwave-deaths-weather
the GuardianAt least 25 people die in US as record heatwave scorches swaths of countryMore than 20 states reported temperatures above 100F as heat dome sits over eastern US during holiday weekendBears watching closely >>
“The market is largely focused on the resumption of oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, which continues to increase,” the Dutch bank’s commodity team wrote today. “However, much of the increase reflects previously stranded vessels leaving the Persian Gulf. Vessel flows into the Gulf remain much more modest.”
Oil Markets Are Pricing A Supply Surge That Isn’t Guaranteed | OilPrice.com
OilPrice.comOil Markets Are Pricing A Supply Surge That Isn’t Guaranteed | OilPrice.comOil prices are sliding on hopes of a Hormuz supply flood, but analysts warn the rebound is driven by stranded tankers, not new flows.Dunno how active they are but it is the kind of thing I like to see >>
#Agroecology Commons
Agroecology CommonsAgroecology CommonsAgroecology Commons cultivates knowledge sharing, community action, and global solidarity for decolonized land stewardship and justice within the food movement.Agroecological principles and elements and their implications for transitioning to #sustainable #foodsystems. A review - s13593-020-00646-z.pdf
https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s13593-020-00646-z.pdf #Agroecology
Europe Isn't Anti-Air Conditioning. It's Just Calling It #HeatPumps | OilPrice.com
OilPrice.comEurope Isn't Anti-Air Conditioning. It's Just Calling It Heat Pumps | OilPrice.comEurope isn't rejecting air conditioning—it is rapidly expanding cooling capacity through reversible heat pumps installed primarily as low-carbon heating systems.New York tops 8 GW of #distributedsolar, moves ahead of 2030 target | Solar Power News | Renewables Now
Renewables NowNew York tops 8 GW of distributed solar, moves ahead of 2030 targetNew York has installed 8 GW of distributed solar capacity, reaching the milestone ahead of schedule and moving closer to its target of 10 GW by 2030, Governor Kathy Hochul has announced.#ElectricBuses Make Up Over 50% of New Deliveries in #Australia - CleanTechnica
https://cleantechnica.com/2026/07/03/electric-buses-make-up-over-50-of-new-deliveries-in-australia/
CleanTechnicaElectric Buses Make Up Over 50% of New Deliveries in Australia - CleanTechnicaElectric buses are moving to replace diesel in Australia, with an increasing penetration rate now nearing 50% new buses being delivered.