Tokusan (780 – 865) was a tough and cantankerous Chinese Zen master. He wielded a menacing bamboo stick. His Zen pedagogy was known as ‘Tokusan’s thirty blows’. Tokusan would say to his disciples: “If you speak rightly I will give you thirty blows. If you speak wrongly, I will also Read more
You might have heard of the expression ‘touch wood’. It is a popular saying in the UK. It is a relic of tree worship that ruled the roost in pagan times. By touching wood we invoke the protection of a tree spirit. It is a pagan ritual. Often unnoticed. This Read more
I’ve been thinking a lot about trees recently. I love them. We have some great trees where we live in Horsforth in Leeds. My favourite tree is the Great Boab tree (Oz). What’s yours? We are all aware of how trees are being chopped down all over the world. We Read more