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The Catcher in the Rye

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Edited by Richard Walker, Sunday, 31 Jan 2010, 01:50

J.D. Salinger has died.

The immortal novel he wrote way back (1960?), The Catcher in the Rye, is a magic book, probably the best or second best American novel of the 20-th century.  He wrote some other stuff - short stories - and they are good too.

Something I remember from these stories is an attachment to haiku, I think a famous one by Issa is there somewhere

Don't swat it!
The fly is rubbing
Its hands and legs

Salinger then gave up publishing any work and  famously became an extreme recluse, refusing all publicity and repulsing interviews.

That doesn't seem so surprising or unreasonable; he seems to have been drawn towards a contemplative life, and had an interest in Zen.

 

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Richard Walker

The beginner's mind is open

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Edited by Richard Walker, Tuesday, 12 Jan 2010, 18:33

A term from Zen.  The idea is that a beginner's mind is open.  From Zen Mind, Beginners' Mind by Shunryn Suzuki 'In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, in the expert's there are few'.

I think teachers should always try to keep the beginners mind, so we rediscover our subject over and over again, and don't ever forget what it was like when we were just starting out.

 

 

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