The Incense Burner Maker

There is a true account of a lady named Kame who was born and brought up in Nagasaki. Her father before her had also been a maker of incense burners. The incense burners he made were of a very high quality and she followed in his footsteps, also making burners of the very highest quality. The burners she made were expensive, because she took her time and only sold those that matched the high standards she set.


She once made a burner for the mayor of Nagasaki which took more than six months to complete. That particular burner is now part of the treasured art of Japan.

I thought yesterday of the difference we now face in our society. Surrounded by the need for instant answers to all things, we have created the express society. You can go to Vision Express and have your eyes tested and the spectacles ready in no time at all. This may indeed be good if you cannot see. We have Shoe Express, now this one I find more difficult but at a push I can see somebody maybe broke a heel. Pizza Express, I have just thought I need something to eat and I need it real fast, I watched a person in a caravan near me yesterday morning returning from the local burger bar because he needed an express breakfast. Fast food does not after all claim to be good food just fast.

Now here is the one that got me thinking, Carpet Express. I have an emergency, I need a new carpet and I need it is the next hour. I can see the carpet fitters sitting tools to hand ready to answer the emergency calls for those who need a new carpet yesterday. I wonder if they had a twenty-four hour helpline for those who might have realised in the middle of the night they needed a carpet.

There is the story of the student who wanted to find the means to peace. He signed on to learn under a master. At the end of week one he told the master he wished to leave, he had not found anything. The master pleaded with him to stay another week. Again the same thing happened. This went on for a number of weeks. At last the master said to him, “Stay one more week and if at the end of that week you still have no answer, then you should kill yourself because you never will find the answer.” The student found his answer in two days.

In a life that is always at express speed it is often the case that we cannot focus on that which is important. The price we pay is quality. The price we pay, is never to know what it is we are seeking.



This blog is linked to my other where I discuss the art:- Abstract