You can’t really see it in our photos - but the tamari is so deep that you could not cut this stone without cutting through and opening the bottom, so wrecking the waterpool. You would not improve the stone by cutting, so shouldn’t do it.

-Janet

This is another opportunity to think about and meditate. The initial presentation evokes a serene atmosphere, though a bit costrained by the daiza; probably I would have opted for cutting, reducing so the visual weight of the daiza. But doing so, it would have not been possible to redesign the presentation: now the stone looks more free (on the other way, more dinamic), reminding me of a flowing volcano or the wilderness of Scots mountains in autumn. Yes, I must see and think about,
Jesus

Your post and further comments come just in time, when there’s now a hot debate in Spain about “to cut or not to cut: that is the question”, but without regards to yin-yang. Of course, I will refer you in trying to balance.
However, I’ve got enriched by the underlying feeling of “-do” flowing from your comments, as I often wonder whether Westerners prefer to talk about rules, criteria, proportions and so no, but forget that most Oriental “arts” are to be developed (lived) within a sense of personal way. Thus, a person may start from cut-stones, and further walking and twisting forward and back uncut stones, and even so, this will be only one within miriads of possible ways to learn from contemplation of stones.
Contemplation of stones: this is the fullness and the emptyness and you are required to no-distraction to fully achieve. When you are in contemplation, you should not be disturbed about whether it is cut or uncut; whether you are pushed to think about it, the stone is not good enough for contemplation.
Thanks, Janet for your inspiration.
Jesus

dailyartmasomenos - thank you!

-Janet

To me, this story indicates a mystical experience. It would seem to me that suiseki is about listening to what things have to say.

Now this is not a one-way communication. Stones talk to us. By listening we let them also do something to us. The result is that they change something in ourselves. So we respond and, in turn, we change them.

This two-way communication has in my eyes a mystical quality of which this piece is evidence.

The cliff in the stone concentrates the living part of it. It is where the stone has changed, It is the story that this stone had to tell to whomever was prepared to listen. It is the story of a break, of an event, of a lost part, of overcoming this pain and looking to the future. It was there all the time, but the message got through when its time arrived.

Don’t we all carry such marks, and don’t we all carry on, and don’t we all look for someone who would listen?

Thank you for sharing this with us.