Reflections on Dogen's steelyard
I came across a striking analogy by the great Zen master Dogen, speaking of balance and equilibrium, and the importance of difference, and introduced it at a recent meditation weekend. A steelyard (stilyard) is an unequal-arm balance, which works differently from the familiar equal-arm scales, weighing an object by moving the equipoise along the longer arm to calibrate weight precisely. He makes the point that equilibrium is not the same as 'fairness'. (Passage quoted at t
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