TWO ARABESQUES BY MIKE TOPP |
by Mike Topp |
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Some of Mike Topp's longer works on Japanese themes in the arabesque style (see Gongorra)
RADISHES Sheriff Pluto Swint didn’t want to partake of the usual lunchtime fare, so he began eating two broiled radishes for lunch every day. Nevertheless, he felt a sense of foreboding. Finally, his worst fears were realized. Rebels attacked and surrounded his constabulary, choosing a moment when the place was deserted. Two deputies rushed out of another building and drove away the rebels. Later, the sheriff found out the two gallant deputies were the radishes he had faithfully eaten for lunch every day for so many years. Who would have thunk it… HAGAKURE These are the things I found most to my taste when I read the book Hagakure, which records the sayings of the great samurai. 1. The Way of the Samurai is found in death. Meditation on inevitable death should be performed daily. Every day when one's body and mind are at peace, one should meditate upon being ripped apart by arrows, rifles, spears and swords, being carried away by surging waves, being thrown into the midst of a great fire, being struck by lightning, being shaken to death by a great earthquake, falling from thousand-foot cliffs, dying of disease or committing seppuku at the death of one's master. And every day without fail one should consider himself as dead. 2. It is bad when one thing becomes two. One should not look for anything else in the Way of the Samurai. It is the same for anything that is called a Way. If one understands things in this manner, he should be able to hear about all ways and be more and more in accord with his own. 3. It is a good viewpoint to see the world as a dream. When you have something like a nightmare, you will wake up and tell yourself that it was only a dream. It is said that the world we live in is not a bit different from this. 4. In the words of the ancients, one should make his decision within the space of seven breaths. It is a matter of being determined and having the spirit to break through to the other side. 5. There is something to be learned from a rainstorm. When meeting with a sudden shower, you try not to get wet and run quickly along the road. But doing such things as passing under the eaves of houses, you still get wet. When you are resolved from the beginning, you will not be perplexed, though you still get the same soaking. This understanding extends to everything. There were other things, but I don’t remember them. |
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