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Zen Parable 42: Heaven and Hell
A samurai warrior makes his way home after a long and arduous campaign against the barbarian tribes of the hinterlands. His robes are stained with the blood of enemies and allies alike, and the specter of death weighs heavy on his mind. Before heading back to his own...
The Dirty Dozen and The Clean Fifteen
"I always buy organic." " I wish I could, but it's too expensive." "I heard there's no point." "How can you say that? Everything else is terrible for you, AND the environment!" There's really nowhere to turn and no one to trust in today's crazy world of food...
Om is where the Heart is: Meditations on the One
Considering the rich foundation of Eastern and esoteric philosophy which underpins both our business model and our way of life, the imagery of Zen, Buddhism and ancient India are virtually inescapable at the House of Bamboo. Few can overlook the wisdom of our...
Zen Parable 12: Everything Flows
As we prepare for the major undertaking of relocating the House of Bamboo, it's a good time to pause and reflect on the fact — sometimes hard to swallow — that everything is always in a state of flux. Or as the ancient Greeks were wont to say, "Panta Rhei," that is,...
Zen Parable 19: Mind is the Forerunner of All Things
It is a fundamental tenet of Far Eastern philosophy that the mind is the forerunner of all things. The idea echoes in the words of the Buddha, above. Shakespeare, too, in all his Elizabethan wisdom, was well-versed in this universal truth. “It is neither good nor bad,...
The Many Faces of Buddha
As we've just gotten in a beautiful new batch of mythic eastern statuary, this seems like an apt moment to review the line-up of Far Eastern iconography. The mighty Buddha is known to take many shapes and forms, sometimes even the absence of form. For those not so...