Site News


 Centering

"As an experiment, try standing equally on both feet; then imagine you are shifting your balance slightly from foot to foot; just as balance centers, do you."

Posted at 7/8/2008 6:48:42 PM by tomoe

 Centering

reps says "each best"

ONE FRIEND READS:

23. Feel your substance, bones, flesh, blood, saturated with cosmic essence.


THE OTHER:

101.When a mood against someone or for someone arises, do not place it on the person in question, but remain centered.

Posted at 7/2/2008 5:43:19 AM by tomoe

 centering

46. on joyously seeing a long-absent friend,

permeate this joy.


45. even remembering union, without the embrace, .the transformation

Posted at 7/2/2008 5:37:27 AM by tomoe

 drinking a bowl of green tea, i stop the war

move from center-just below belly button

* pillow education: 4 sides

* if not fun best left undone

* centering # 54

In an easy position, gradually pervade an area between the
armpitsinto great peace.

Posted at 5/17/2008 8:55:33 PM by tomoe

emptiness

101 zen stories

36 FLOWER SHOWER

Subhuti was Buddha's disciple. He was able to understand
the potency of emptiness, the viewpoint that nothing exists
except in its relationship of subjectivity and objectivity.

One day Subhuti, in a mood of sublime emptiness, was
sitting under a tree. Flowers began to fall about him.

"We are praising you for your discourse on emptiness," the
gods whispered to him.
"But I have not spoken of emptines," said Subhuti.

"You have not spoken of emptiness, we have not heard
emptiness," responded the gods. "This is the true emptiness." And blossoms showered upon Subhuti as rain.











Posted at 4/29/2008 7:17:00 PM by tomoe

letter- reps to segal

BILL,


Kindly return by mail letter, enclosed, not in person,
these 5 letters you might like to read. Reading time 2 minutes.

1 Letter from So - yen; he is head of a beautiful monastery
you should come to with me.

2 Letter from Fukue Kamiguchi has a very fine quality I feel.

3 Letter from Tokuzawa who will receive us.

4 Letter from Thought magazine.

5. Letter from Lakshmanjoo in Kashmir.

6. Letter from tikku, former VP of bank in Srinaagar.

Tikku I also asked to get
Centering reprinted in India
and both he and Lakshmanjoo
could well use reprint copies.

I hope we will be adequately taken care of.
This is entirely different from going cold in a $1000 a week
hotel. It simply is another world.

Paul

Posted at 1/25/2008 4:47:20 AM by tomoe

 poetic quiet circle letter January 17, '55



"maybe you can direct and articulate your life ideal
more consciously and so more effectively.
It hapens now that in Le Perthus,
Himeji, Tokyo, India, Kashmir, Holland, Kopenhavn,
and USA (thanks to you) there are folks reps loves and
loving reps - a kind of poetic quiet circle
trying to live in beauty - and doing so.


This is your circle too.



artistic handwritten signature
Paul Reps

Posted at 1/25/2008 4:39:59 AM by tomoe

 picture poem letter reps to segal

24 July 57


"Dear Bill,

I blossomed into artist, had a big display, have
written it up, which with along with 64 things am
planning to have in book form if Tuttle will do;
they are interested.

I asked them to send you ZEN FLESH ZEN BONES
that has handsomely appeared.

Hope you like Europe, next year, the Fair,
is time to go again.
My various picture-poems are being used in
Zen monasteries as instructions. Chioh-in has a
large screen of them; various others also have them
as treasures. Lots of fun. O my,



artistic signature reps

Posted at 1/25/2008 4:30:53 AM by tomoe

 knapsack letter by reps to segal

22 April 55

Dear Bill,


""Data on trip:

I never intended to impose a knapsack on you or beret either, though for out-country I much prefer them. I think using a small light knapsack this time. I take it in plane with me and especially around world it is a great help in not waiting for plane baggage.

You can always get clothes in Tokyo, cost more than here. But not the light weight rubbers I got in NYC, and raincoat plastic.
And have extra pair of (preferable dark colored) slacks palm beach or thin ones, and short sleeved shirt for summer heat.
I go in lightest weight suit possible, and if I get cold I simply put my short sleeved sweater on. No top coat."

Posted at 1/25/2008 4:20:02 AM by tomoe

 cosmic clock

from a letter to bill segal

"in small type, this page faces or follows chapter 4 SUPPOSE beginning.

Resting in a hotel in New York, USA, I thought,
"How can Weatherby, my publisher, see these special
pictures when he's in Japan?"

Something told me to go to the gallery exhibiting
pictures I made where I was later to give three talks.

I started to do so but went instead to a restaurant
then turned around and walked out. Next I went into
a bookstore and again walked out. I made my way
to the gallery.

There a few minutes after arriving who should
walk in but Weatherby from Japan! Had I not
perforce and almost against my will followed an
inner guidance, I never would have met him and shown
him the pictures."

Posted at 1/25/2008 4:10:10 AM by tomoe

 letters to a friend

marielle sends from new york boxes of letters from reps to bill segal, dated 1960-1980's.
reporting on a few of those and one or two from other sources.

1921-letter thanking reps for help with house for poor students in India.

1948_ letter for bill from St. James's Street in London, England. Discussion on a book of Persian Art.

following letters by reps return address

1960
February:
Kowloon, Hong Kong c/o J. Liu
Bought Olympic typewriter

1961
February
P.O. Box 2934 Honolulu, Hawaii Mrs. Watamull
March
Tahiti, Fijii
April
P.O.Box 115 Tokyo, Japan
May
June
July
P.O. Box 115 Tokyo, Japan
November
P.O. Box2934 Honolulu, Hawaii

1962
February
P.O. Box 2934 Honolulu, Hawaii
March
P.O. Box 2934 Honolullu, Hawaii
April
#505 1451 So. King St. Honolulu 14, Hawaii
c/o Rippee Bolman
P.O.Box 115 Tokyo, Japan
May
P.O. Box 115 Tokyo, Japan
August
Hakone, Japan
Hong Kong
September
Hamburg to pick up a VW
Copenhagen, Denmark
October
8 Copenhagen, Denmark
31 Klekken Turist Hotel
Oslo, Norway

1963
January
#504 116 So. King St. Honolulu, Hawaii
NY letterhead
February
2139 Puuali Place Honolulu 14, Hawaii
March
Rippee Bolman
June
71 Pohakulani St. Hilo, Hawaii
August
Chico, CA letterhead
December
Chinese Art Gallery letterhead Jimmy Liu

1964
January
P.O. Box 6224 Kowloon, Hong Kong
February
Jimmy Liu Hong Kong
April
28 Japan
September
Big Sur, CA
October
P.O. Box 11 Hilo, Hawaii
15 W. Chester NY c/o Segals
November
Hilo

1965
January P.O. Box 11 Hilo, Hawaii
March Big Sur, CA
April Japan
June Konstmuseum Sweden c/o Gosta Olander
July Goteburg, Sweden New York
October Hilo
December 28th Paauilo, Hawaii move into house tomorrow
"The point of it is that it has a plastic roof like enclosed so the thing is a house of light, added to by a big tipped out window and aluminum sliding doors and other windows.
We call it our poem house all right; everyone reacts to it, farmers and all, with a kind of delight wonder. The tall trees shade it from the sun too.
The earth goes down 9 feet of rockless rich soil,.....1900 feet altitude, the same as at Valadalens. It is yours to use and enjoy. Do so!


1966
June c/o Gosta Olander Sweden
What waffles!
I have just returned from an hour launch trip on a mountain lake to a small farm in Sweden where....On return the cows, bulls goats walked down the mountain with the 20 people and saw us off in two small boats. So courteous, so loving.
July 8 Finland( meets hunter from Nepal) , Stockholm, Hamburg(ship car to Hawaii) , fly Copenhagen, Anchorage, Tokyo, then to the Japanese alps.

1967
March bill and paul about Mihoko in NY and roshi Suzuki
John Dowlin
May 24-26 Wainwright House Estate Rye, New York
June 1-2 Chicago present Space Poems

1968
June c/o Gosta Olander Sweden Goteburg
July Limerick, Ireland London
October Boston Goddard College
13 Montreal

1970
March Paauilo, Hawaii
April Vermont c/o Dowlin
June Paauilo
July 23 Paauilo
October Berkeley, Palo Alto, UC Santa Cruz, CA

1971
March Paauilo
November 505 Rupert Street Victorea BC, Canada
December 5242 Jersey Victoria BC, Canada c/o King
writes about how to play Shogi . shall go to hawaii

1972
June Olden, Norway
July Zermatt, switzerland until August 9
August
September 4 lectures U of Victoria
October P.O. Box 726 victoria BC Canada
November Victoria BC Canada
December Ashram Box 9 Kastenay Bay BC Canada

1973
March
726 Victoria BC Canada until
April 15
15-30 Calgery
May
Buchinger Klinik
am Bodensee, Germany
Switzerland
Arcos Islands, WA
July
august
september
october
726 Victoria BC Canada
December
Maui

1974
March
P.O. Box 726 Victoria BC Canada

1975
April
May'
Olden, Norway
June
Buchinger Klinik
am Bodensee, Germany
July
NYC
September
P.O. Box 726 Victoria

1976
March
Cancun
Buy Gold now
August
Duncan, BC Canada
Clothes don't let sun in. "Outdoors forgives indoors"
September
6 talks, 6 cities from Oregon down
book SIT-IN
December
Maui-Lu

1977
January
February
Maui
March
Portland, OR
Vancouver
December
Haiku, Maui c/o Bayly

1978

January
visiting an old friend in Maui. He pulls out my old typewriter.
September
Kyoto exhibit
Takashimaya
Ohashi estate
has reps picture-poems on obi and collection of reps pottery

1979
January
come to spend winters in Hawaii
c/o smith 380 Portlock Road Honolulu 96825
February
Iao Valley Lodge, Maui
28th fly to Zen Center, SF
March
Zen Center
4-6 talks for children then adults
Seattle, WA
April
Seattle, WA
Portland OR
May
Vancouver
Cortez Island
June
Boulder, CO
David Blistein visits
Corning, New York
July
Paia, Maui


1984
December
P.O. Box 1979
Kamuela, Hi c/o tomoe
abide 2500 ft., air clear, calm
Health improved, was ok before
shipped Dodge Dart to Hawaii
putting in each library in Hawaii, copy of "letters to a friend"
Go to bed with birds, main meal noon.









thank you
continue later











Posted at 5/20/2007 by tomoe

 vigyan bhairava and sochanda tantra

zen flesh zen bones

centering:


"here lakshmanjoo--tall, full bodied, shining--welcomes me. he shares with me this ancient teaching from the vigaya bhairava and sochanda tantra, both written about four thousand years ago, and from malini vijaya tantra, probably another thousand years older yet. it is an ancient teaching, copied and recopied countless times, and from it lakshmanjoo has made the beginnings of an english version. i transcribe it eleven more times to get it into the form given here.
shiva first chanted it to his consort devi in a language of love we have yet to learn. it is about the immanent experience. it presents 112 ways to open the invisible door of consciousness. i see lakshmanjoo gives his life to its practicing."

to read more of this practice, go to the section called centering in reps book zen flesh zen bones.


Posted at 2/16/2007 4:27:10 PM by tomoe

 august 2006

creating reps folders: letters
from 1950
1960
1970
1980
from Japan
Europe
India
Boulder
Hawaii

homes built:Hawaii
Japan

playshop posters

friends mentioned

artwork/manuscripts


Posted at 8/21/2006 11:45:00 AM by tomoe

 "head and heart are not apart"

a head and heart clinic comes together

dr. jim says "head, heart; it is the same thing"

"head and heart are not apart"

Posted at 8/13/2006 5:59:08 AM by tomoe

 july 2006





"root still bud will come"

Posted at 7/10/2006 10:08:36 PM by tomoe

 # 68 of 101 stories

"one note of zen

after kakua visited the emperor he disappeared and no one knew what became of him. he was the first japanese to study zen in china, but since he showed nothing of it, save one note, he is not remembered for having brought zen into his country.

kakua visited china and accepted thetrue teaching. he did not travel while he was there. meditating constantly, he lived on a remote part of a mountain. whenever people found him and asked him to preach he would say a few words and then move to another part of the mountain where he could be found less easily.

the emperor heard about kakua when he returned to japan and asked him to preach zen for his edification and that of his subjects.

kakua stood before the emperor in silence. he then produced a flute from the folds of his robe, and blew one short note. bowing politely, he disappeared." - From Zen Flesh, Zen Bones

Posted at 5/10/2006 7:11:44 PM by tomoe

 snow on mauna kea today

kaddish: a jewish prayer

a hawaiian blessing

thousands of rose petals and flowers to encircle mark in the ocean that he loved

weather is everchanging---rain,
thunder lightening --- awaking to record amount of snow

Posted at 5/7/2006 5:24:43 PM by tomoe

 mark passes

"in-joy"

"now"

"breathflow
as breath turns from down to up,
and again as breath curves from up to down---
through both these turns, realize"
-centering: number 2

"one"

"you cannot see or touch the Divine with your gross senses. the divine is within you,
not somewhere else. Unite yourself to the divine, and you will be able to perceive gods wherever you are, but do not try to grasp or cling to them."
- morihei ueshiba

Posted at 5/7/2006 5:17:32 PM by tomoe

 Champion Ridge Video

View the Champion Ridge Video: Flash Video

Posted at 4/10/2006 10:31:17 PM by Jaben Cargman

 let us spend a month of each year together

"good food
still
exercise
still
contemplative
still"


Posted at 2/21/2006 8:56:58 AM by tomoe

 matisse at the metropolitan museum

marielle directs us to the matisse exhibition and the little duccio "madonna and child" at the new york metropolitan museum.
delightful

Posted at 9/20/2005 1:25:37 PM by tomoe

 # 24 from "the gateless gate "

"without words, without silence

a monk asked fuketsu: "without speaking, without silence, how can you express the truth?"

fuketsu observed: "i always remember springtime in southern china. the birds sing among innumerable kinds of fragrant flowers."

mumon's comment: fuketsu used to have lightning zen. whenever he had the opportunity, he flashed it. but this time he failed to do so and only borrowed from an old chinese poem. never mind fuketsu's zen. if you want to express the truth, throw out your words, throw out your silence, and tell me about your own zen.

without revealing his own penetration.
he offered another's words,not his to give.
had he chattered on and on,
even his listeners would have been
embarrassed."
-From Zen Flesh, Zen Bones


Posted at 8/4/2005 5:02:23 PM by tomoe

 if not fun best left undone

aloha

reps loved to say "if not fun best left undone"

does anyone have this picture-poem handwritten by reps?

please contact us



Posted at 6/25/2005 1:48:00 PM by tomoe

 friends of reps

"let us spend a month of each year together"

contemplative mind

marielle bancou

paauilo house

Posted at 3/5/2005 5:01:06 PM by tomoe

  incredible hawaiian landscapes of beauty

"how to feel as new
all through


days spent in incredible
Hawaiian landscapes of
beauty


Yes, everyone should
move to Hawaii
Let me help you
"

written by reps for tomoe


(written by paul reps 1989)

Posted at 1/7/2005 5:50:00 PM by tomoe

les livres peints de Marielle Bancou

"uma thurman and her father prof. robert thurman collect them, as do issey miyake, peter brook and ken burns, not to mention jack lenor larsen. they are among a select group of admirers and collectors of the work of Marielle Bancou. Her books and set designs have an almost cult status in new york, paris and tokyo.

now for the first time a rare chance to see an exhibition of her new work in los angeles at christopher farr's courtyard gallery opening december 15, 2004 just in time for the season of giving.

the exhibition will feature 49 books from sizes 3 1/2 x 4 1/2 to 14 1/2 x 19 1/2 ins. with prices ranging from $1,500 to $10,000.


Marielle Bancou

painted books

exhibition:
December 15, 2004 - January 15, 2005

christopher farr USA
748 N. La Cienega Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90069

ph:310-967-0064
fx:310-967-0065"

Posted at 12/11/2004 9:15:36 PM by tomoe

 transition

"prayer for eternal sleep"

.............a last drop of water

Posted at 7/28/2004 4:33:58 AM by tomoe

 journal

who has the book with information?

birth certificate

social security card

insurance cards

financial institutions

plans for transition

who has instructions for how

where to rest

words for departure

will

deeds

Posted at 7/26/2004 1:46:45 AM by tomoe

 kenji passes



house is secure

body is still for two days---spirit frees

Posted at 7/25/2004 5:53:38 PM by tomoe

 marielle answers

Dear Keiko,

Thank you very sincerely for your letter, so interesting, open, in concordance with the direction of the XXIst century civilization. Civilizations move. Our century has a source in the meeting of America and Japan. At the beginning of each of these great movements,some individuals---strong, adventurous, original minds, lead the way.

Issey Miyake is certainly one of them---whose work is a manifestation of the tradition of Japan,transformed by New York (and Paris!)

As I had the pleasure recently to discuss projects with Tomoe, we thought of another of these special individuals, pioneers; Paul Reps is one of them, and here is what we imagined, that might be of interest to your Japanese Cultural Center.

Paul Reps spent all winters of his last 3 or 4 decades in Hawaii, loved your islands, wrote from your Islands,taught "Reps Zen" in your islands. He is one of the first American intellectuals having travelled to Japan. He wrote and published in Japan. It might be interesting to organize some seminar, exhibition, lecture, around this most interesting artist and poet. It is an idea to be realized as you wish to see it, may be good within your future programs.

My husband, William Segal, is another of these Americans who discovered Japan with pleasure and admiration. He published many articles on Japan, after his first trip in 1952 (with Paul Reps) I would like very much you to see the book they both published, "Letters to a friend" As well as mine, lately, "A Voice at the Borders of Silence"

There are so many more details ...
please excuse this long letter. I shall let Tomoe explain more if this idea tempts you---
most cordially
marielle

Posted at 7/21/2004 3:35:19 AM by tomoe

 mouth movers international unite

www.archaeusproject.com

www.contemplativemind.org

www.newmoonfoundation.org


Posted at 7/17/2004 7:36:13 PM by tomoe

 subjectivity and objectivity

36.FLOWER SHOWER

"Subhuti was Buddha's disciple. He was able to understand the potency of emptiness, the viewpoint that nothing exists except in its relationship of subjectivity and objectivity.

One day Subhuti, in a mood of sublime emptiness, was sitting under a tree. Flowers began to fall about him.

'We are praising you for your discourse on emptiness,' the gods whispered to him.

'But I have not spoken of emptiness', said Subhuti.

'You have not spoken of emptiness, we have not heard emptiness,' responded the gods. 'This is true emptiness.' And blossoms showered upon Subhuti as rain."
From Zen Flesh, Zen Bones

Posted at 9/15/2003 9:32:58 PM by tomoe

 light

"wherever
you
are
whenever
you
move

may light
be your
way"




Posted at 8/28/2003 10:17:50 PM by tomoe

 Rate the Picture Poems

Go to Picture Poems and rate your favorite poems. Your feedback helps!

Posted at 2/5/2003 4:59:44 AM by Jaben Cargman

 a friend of reps

aloha

reps lived and worked in Kamuela, Hawaii most of the last ten years of his life. he left many memories; picture-poems,books - published and unpublished.

would you share your phase of reps life with us? what years were you together? surely you have a reps story we would love.

how do you suppose reps would have used the web?

Please let us hear from you:




(add section to share?)
e-mail: repsplayshop@hawaii.rr.com



Posted at 11/14/2002 6:12:02 PM by tomoe

 outdoors forgives indoors

let fresh air and natural beauty restore your soul


issey fashion show and homeless shelter project

Posted at 8/14/2002 2:47:42 PM by tomoe

 drinking a bowl of green tea I stop the war

An excerpt from Living in Balance,
by Joel & Michelle Levey

The summer Joel graduated from the university he met Paul Reps, who touched him deeply. Joel remembers the time tenderly.

“ I was offered a job setting up an international conference on consciousness research in the Canadian Rockies. I discovered a wonderful and eccentric companion who at first glance, appeared like an elder elf with bright eyes, deep gaze, and the presence of one deep in Spirit.
“During our conversations reps, a marvelous story teller, would invite me into his memories traveling through the Orient.
“In the early ‘50s, reps, who was in his forties, had traveled to Japan en route to visit a respected Zen master in Korea. He went to the passport office to apply for his visa and was politely informed that his request was denied due to the conflict that had just broken out. Reps walked away, and sat down quietly in the waiting area. He reached into his bag, pulled out his thermos and poured a cup of tea. Finishing his tea he pulled out a brush and paper upon which he wrote a picture poem. The clerk read the poem and it brought tears to his eyes. He smiled, bowed with respect, and stamped reps’ passport for passage to Korea. Reps’ Haiku read: "drinking a bowl of green tea I stop the war"

Posted at 6/25/2002 4:21:51 AM by tomoe

 by TRACY COCHRAN and JEFF ZALESKI

In October 1999, a panel of distinguished teachers, writers and editors drawn from the major religious traditions presented,under the auspices of the publishing house Harper San Francisco, a list of the 100 Best Spiritual Books of the Century. One of the books was Zen Flesh Zen Bones by Paul Reps.
Reps was an American original whose life spanned most of the 20th century. Born in Iowa in 1895, where his father owned the Reps Dry Goods Company in Cedar Rapids, he died in Los Angeles in 1990. In between, he profoundly influenced several generations of spiritual seekers, both through his iconoclastic presence and through his several books. Zen Flesh Zen Bones, first issued by Tuttle in 1957 and still in print, is a compilation of four of Reps' earlier books. Three of those books date to the mid-1930s,rooting Zen Flesh, Zen Bones as the earliest Buddhist book on the Best Spiritual Book list and marking Reps as a founding father of American Buddhism.

Yet at least part of reps' appeal today is the way he lived the self-sufficient life of a spiritual pioneer, hungering after reality too much to settle for becoming an expert on any "ism." Although he treated the tradition and teachers he learned from with great respect, his work and his life make it abundantly clear that he was out to find the real Reps, and that he meant to have fun while he was at it.

"If not fun, best left undone" reps was fond of saying. Reps life and work is a wonderful model of spiritual individuality.

Posted at 6/14/2002 12:06:47 AM by tomoe

 head and heart are not apart. reps

"wandering in the ineffable beauty of Kashmir, above Srinagar I come upon the hermitage of Lakshmanjoo. .........no-thing-ness,spirit---once touched, the whole life clears."
pr

".....There are many paths leading to the top of Mount Fuji, but there is only one summit---love."
mu

"A good heart is both important and effective in daily life. ..... Matter is important, we must have it and we must use it properly, but in this century we must combine a good brain with a good heart."
dl

head and heart institute and clinic

Posted at 4/22/2002 1:17:50 PM by tomoe

 Two Souls

each best

TWO SOULS

each a living shrine

Posted at 12/13/2001 1:49:04 PM by tomoe

 reps playshop



"WILL NUCLEAR TERRORISM
COME NEXT?
ARE YOU PREPARING
FOR IT?
Just thot I'd ask
Living can be fun
Why not engage a suite
at the zen retreat?
Neat




retreat: fine food...still...no smoking...still...self guidance...still
when go---go...still...when do---do...still...
thank you...as we still fragrances wake light in head and heart"



research:


power of meditation
video documentary of hawaii
life skills




Posted at 11/14/2001 8:27:48 PM by tomoe

 A New Human On Earth

A NEW HUMAN ON EARTH
ONE WORLD ONE NATION
NO ONE STARVING "How could we
accomplish
such a dream?

STOP
KILLING


ronen's art and wisdom

Posted at 11/1/2001 12:31:52 PM by tomoe

 marielle to hawaii

went to tea at marielle's in new york city
we leave for the metropolitan museum,
although it is closed for the day
her friend Barbara is a curator for the japanese part of the museum and escorts us to the byzatine exhibition where marielle enjoys beauty/color. her special area of interest.
perhaps we may interest her in the blues and green colors of hawaii

11-04-04

marielle will have her exhibition at christopher farr's gallery this december 15,2004
will they then come to hawaii?
a repsplayshop time?

Posted at 10/26/2001 11:53:00 PM by tomoe

 Centering

centering" transcribed by Paul Reps

"machines,ledgers,dancers,athletes balance. just as centering or balance augments various skills, so it may awareness.


#87 suppose you are gradually being deprived of strength or of knowledge. at the instant of deprivation,transcend."

communication
commitment

Posted at 10/23/2001 11:46:11 AM by tomoe

 

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