Jacques Brosse "The Joy of the Moment" Ed. Peripheral

It is fundamental, first of all, to recognize and congratulate the peripheral editorial for his work to rescue and publish in Spanish the posthumous work of the French thinker Jacques Brosse, Le Bonheur du Jour (2008), translated as “La alegría del momento”.

A brief countenance of Jacques Brosse, I would tell us that he was born on August 21, 1922 in Paris and died on January 3, 2008 in Sarlat. He was an outstanding writer, journalist and philosopher, as well as a naturalist and encyclopedist. In addition to his literary and academic work, Brosse He stood out for his deep interest in spirituality, which led him to be ordained Buddhist monk in the Zen tradition. This experience significantly influenced his writing and his understanding of the various philosophical and religious currents.

The previously mentioned information is scarce and lacks details about the author, and in Spanish there is little more available about this French writer and philosopher, which leads us to explore external sources. Although the Encyclopædia Universalis It could offer more complete data, its access requires a minimum payment of three months. Therefore, I have chosen to consult the religious association's page Dô shin, which indicates that it was established in 1996 with the purpose of organizing Zen meditation retreats and disseminating Buddhist teachings. The community formed around Jacques Brosse, Zen monk commissioned by the teacher Undone, which was then in charge of the spiritual direction. Brosse, author of multiple works on Zen, history of religious and botanical mentalities, dedicated thirty years to the teaching of Zen, forming numerous disciples.

Consequently, the association founded by Jacques Brosse In 1996 it provides valuable information. For those who want to access the original text in French, it is in the address: Dô shin (Acknowledgments). Spanish translated your information would be as follows:

It was the fourth son of a family composed of five members and the youngest of men. During his early childhood, his brother Pierre, who had been eighteen years old, assumed the role of father figure, guiding him in the discovery of nature and history. As an exceptional student, he enrolled in the law career and attended the classes of Jean Wahl, where existentialism and phenomenology issues were addressed. He began to explore concepts of gnosis and tradition, which led him to spend time with the Martinist order of Raymond Habakkuk, thus enriching his intellectual and spiritual formation.

He refused to fulfill the Mandatory Work Service [Nazi Germany imposed the implementation of the Sto to the Vichy government, in an attempt to compensate for the lack of labor due to the sending of a large number of German soldiers to the eastern front, where the situation continued to deteriorate.], Being captured and admitted to Switzerland, where he met Simone Y Antoine Veil, who would remain friends.

In 1945, Jacques Brosse filed a friendship with Albert Camus, whom I admired deeply. This link led to the publication of its first text, “Le Secret”, which captured the attention of the French diplomatic service. As a result, in 1947, he was unexpectedly appointed correspondent of the French radio in the United Nations in New York, a position he held for two years. Subsequently, he briefly occupied a position in the Directorate of Cultural Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Paris, before joining the publishing house of Robert Laffont as chief editor, where he remained until 1981.

Jacques and his wife Simonne Jacquemard, driven by their desire to acquire deep knowledge and connect with the universe, dedicated themselves to the natural sciences and, in 1953, they joined the Research Center on the migration of mammals and birds of the National Museum of Natural History. In 1970, they made the president Pompidou He would grant protection to the Vanoise Natural Park and established two natural reserves: that of Devinière, in southern pan, which was active from 1965 to 1988, and that of Verdier, near Eyzies, in southern Dordoña, which worked from 1988 to 2003. In 1989, his commitment to the defense of the environment and rural life was recognized with the Nonino International Award.

Within this framework, its notable interest in solidarity between animals, friendship and interaction between species develops. This philosophical and naturalistic vision is the central axis of its first work, L'Ordre des Choss, which excited Gaston Bachelard. Published by PLON in 1958, it received praise from Claude Lévi-Strauss, who perceived in it a hint of Zen spirit. Subsequently, the author continued his exploration with L'épomère (1960) and Exhumations (1962), while L'Homme Dans Les Bois (1976) and Le chant du loriot ou l'Etarnel instant (1990) deepened the naturalistic approach, always with a nuance of religious anthropology, as observed in THE MAGIE DES PLANTES (1990). The tree, in particular, became a recurring theme in his work, with titles such as Mythologie des Arbres (1989), L'Arbre et l'éveil (1997) and the Larousse des arbres et desbustes (2000). During this period, he also cultivated a close friendship with Jean Cocteau.

In May 1968, Jacques Brosse He had significant encounters with Alan Watts Y Henri Michaux, quienes lo introdujeron en el uso de sustancias psicotrópicas como el LSD, destinadas a la “expansión de la conciencia”. Brosse interpreted this experience as an openness towards the mystical, in the line of thought of Jacob Boehme. However, this exploration brought a brief mandatory internment due to the possession of Peyote.

For a long time, he had felt a deep curiosity about Buddhism, especially for Zen. After returning from an initiatory trip to the Amazon, he discovered that a teacher, Taisen undone, he had established himself in Paris. In 1974, he took his novice votes and a year later Monje was ordered, an experience he tells in his work Satori (1976). Before the teacher's death, in 1977, he became a teacher and then a teacher in 1982, founding with his disciples (1996) the association Dôshin Zen Subsequently, he wrote Zen et Occident (1992) and Le Bouddha (1997).

Impulsado por una fe firme en su misión de enseñanza, dirigió varias sesshines anuales [En budismo zen, “sesshin” significa “tocar el espíritu” o “reunir el corazón-mente” y se refiere a un período intensivo de práctica de meditación, generalmente en un monasterio zen. Es una oportunidad para concentrarse en la meditación, alejándose de las distracciones de la vida cotidiana.], hasta su fallecimiento y ordenó a un total de aproximadamente veinte bodhisattvas y monjes, quienes lo acompañaron y continuaron con la práctica de la tradición zen.

In this context, he showed a deep interest in the genealogy of Western mysticism, which led him to write Les Maîtres Spirituels In 1989. established in Dordoña, he received in 1987 the French Academy Literature Prize For his complete work and began to explore art, focusing on mandala painting. Later, he translated the works of the prominent poet Zen Maestro Dogen, publishing Poly the Lune et Labourer les Nuages, in 1998, as well as an enlightening biography entitled Maître Dôgen, Moine Zen, Philosophe et Poète, also in 1998. In addition, his extensive knowledge of Eastern Christianity led him to elaborate a monumental Histoire de la Chrétienté d'Ont et d'Asa (406-1204), in 1995.

The author commented on his vast knowledge about Zen in an extensive and splendid illustrated book entitled L'Amble du Zen (2003), in addition to offering a synthesis of your teaching in Pratique du Zen Vivant (2005). His final work, Pourquoi naissans-nous? Et Autres Questions impertinent (2007), is presented as a philosophical will.

Posthumously, in February 2008, it was published Le Bonheur du Jour (book that concerns us).

Your friend JEAN MOUTAPA described the author as “Un hombre cuya mirada, oculta tras la nieve de sus cejas, destilaba una picardía infantil. No se percibía en él distinción entre erudito, maestro y ser humano, y parecía haber alcanzado su venerable edad, junto con la sabiduría que esta conlleva, sin renunciar al entusiasmo de su juventud”.

Jacques Brosse He left us on January 3, 2008.

In addition to these valuable biographical notes, it is important to mention that in 2012 the book was published in France ITinéraire d'En Naturaliste Zen: Casterur à l'origin, in the Pocket collection. In the book, as he points out, the route of the French thinker is drawn.

As could be verified, the life of Jacques Brosse It was marked by a series of significant events, which undoubtedly makes both its existence and its work extremely attractive.

We arrive at the section that concerns us, the posthumous book itself of Brosse delivered by Peripheral.

The term le Bonheur-Du-Jour It is, in addition to the original title of this book, a small furniture. Jacques Brosse, in an annotation it specifies it:

"El escritorio tocador es «un pequeño mueble con cajones en el que guardamos cartas y pequeños recuerdos a los que damos valor». Desafortunadamente, sólo se encuentran en anticuarios; desde finales del siglo XVIII ya no se fabrican”.

The translator provides greater clarity over the term: “A falta de un término en español para bonheur-du-jour, nombre del mueble que aquí describe Jacques Brosse y término utilizado para el título del libro francés, es, según el diccionario Littré, «un tipo de mueble pequeño donde se guardan los papeles y los pequeños objetos a los que se les tiene cariño». El sintagma le bonheur du jour significa, por su parte, «la felicidad del presente» o «la alegría del momento», título este último que hemos escogido para la presente traducción al español. La expresión aparecerá dos veces hacia el final del libro. Conviene tener en cuenta la ambigüedad con la que juega el autor, tanto en esta expresión como en otras que utiliza y que serán objeto de diferentes notas al pie”.

Therefore, more or less that is about the book of Brosse, that is, it is presented as a dietary that covers an annual cycle, from March one year, until March of the following year. In its pages, the author captures the moments in which he feels amazed by the beauty of life that surrounds it, including plants, birds and the landscape of their beloved region of the Périgord, located in the southwest of France.

The Naturalist inclination of the author It manifests throughout the work, where a large part of its observations It focuses on birds. In his first annotation, dated March 15, he refers to the common mosquito net, highlighting his interest in the avifauna since the beginning of the book:

“Con el mosquitero común, el primero de los pájaros migratorios, la primavera ha vuelto: está llamando a la ventana”.

Jacques shows a deep affection for birds and small birds, to the point that it provides food and water in the spoils of their window.

“En el alféizar, los herrerillos comunes vienen a buscar las rosadas migas de las galletas de Reims que picotearán entre las rosadas flores del ciruelo”.

Deepening the subject, this August score is very moving. The translator explains the word game present in the text:

“Todos los días, a las cuatro en punto, abro la ventana y pongo las pipas de girasol en el plato. Inmediatamente aparecen los herrerillos y se posan en las ramas del avellano esperando a que la cierre. Cuando doy la señal, todos se abalanzan sobre el plato y cada uno se lleva su semilla. Vienen de todas partes. Cuento una treintena, entre carboneros comunes y algunos herrerillos que se cuelan entre ellos, y luego, cuando se ha calmado el alboroto, dos o tres carboneros palustres, más tímidos. Nadie falta nunca a la cita de las cuatro.

Ángeles míos*, os he alimentado, ¿me alimentaréis vosotros a mí algún día?”.

* It is impossible to reproduce the beautiful word game that Brosse introduces here. The expression month-angles of the original literally means "my angels", but it can also be read as Mésanges, a noun that, in singular and followed by a specific one, is used in French to designate different species of birds, such as the common coal (Mésange Charbonnière), the common blacksmith (Mésange Bleue) or the coal Palustre (Mésange Nonnette), of those spoken in this fragment.

Jacques Brosse I felt a deep I appreciate trees, what is reflected in some of his annotations, such as the mention of the walnut in front of his home:

“El crecimiento de las plantas nunca es un hecho casual. Si bien la luz las dirige, no crecen en su dirección de cualquier manera. Perciben el obstáculo que encontrarán los tallos mucho antes de tocarlo. Lo he constatado muchas veces en el viejo nogal que tengo enfrente, detrás de la ventana, por las numerosas contorsiones de sus ramas, provocadas por cambios bruscos de dirección.

El follaje ocupa todo el espacio que encuentra; se extiende en múltiples ramificaciones. También he observado el despertar de las yemas latentes cuando se corta una rama o la arranca el viento. Los suplentes esperaban su turno para reequilibrar el armazón dañado. El árbol está constantemente curando sus heridas, compensando sus pérdidas y restaurando su arboladura”.

“Al pie del viejo cedro, volví a ocupar el lugar donde había estado meditando diecisiete años atrás. No había vuelto allí desde entonces. Apoyado en su corteza, miraba hacia la copa. Las ramas bajas que lo sujetaban al suelo habían caído; la energía liberada había hecho que el cedro creciera hacia arriba, hacia el cielo”.

The thinker possessed a extensive knowledge about plants, and in his diary he records a notable diversity of them, as evidenced in his description of Catalpa.

“A mi regreso, encuentro las flores de la joven catalpa en plena floración. Sus racimos, blancos, sobre las grandes hojas, verde claro, la vuelven gloriosa, pero hay que acercarse para apreciar la delicadeza de cada una de las corolas, boca ofrecida de labios estriados de amarillo y con trazas de púrpura en la parte posterior de la garganta. Se ha beneficiado del exceso de humedad, pero no su vecina, una planta del género Albizia. Sus hojas cuelgan, amarillentas. Sin embargo, también ella está a punto de florecer; pronto los penachos carmíneos ocultarán su desvaído follaje”.

Jacques I felt a deep Affection for animals. Their connection with them was remarkable and was reflected in their care and attention. Among his animals, he stood out A kid called Aglaé. Jacques He talked about her with a special charm, which evidenced the link they shared:

“La cabra Aglaé, «tu novia», como me dice Simonne, no sabe cómo corresponder a mis caricias; a veces intenta enroscarse a mis pies, aunque eso signifique hacerme perder el equilibrio; a veces me acaricia con la frente, apresándome una pierna entre los cuernos; a veces aspira voluptuosamente mi olor y acto seguido me dirige una mirada lánguida que significa «¡Qué hermosas crías haríamos tú y yo!».

In the image they find Jacques Brosse, his wife Simonne and the goat Aglaé.

During an excursion to collect mushrooms, Brosse It stops to share information about these, as well as about the limitations of language when trying to describe them:

“Hoy me voy de setas. No es una recolección, sino una caza, con todos sus imprevistos, casualidades y emociones. Donde estaba seguro de encontrar alguna, no hay ni una. Entonces, a fuerza de fisgonear a derecha e izquierda, descubro una colonia bien escondida que de repente llena mi cesta.

And to them, can we call them fruits? Yes and no. Botanically, they have carpophorous, "bearers of fruits", but these fruits are spores, rudimentary and asexual seeds, the multiplier agents of this plant that is not. Asexual is not even the exact word: all sporophore cells contain centers of the opposite sex that secretly merger, after which the spores are expelled.

Nuestro vocabulario no es suficiente, ya que nos hace comparar lo incomparable y nos conduce a graves errores. Aun así, intentemos utilizarlo hasta donde pueda llevarnos. Pero ¿podrá expresar alguna vez a este extraño familiar que nos resulta tan ajeno?”.

Our author continues to expand the information from the previous note, incorporating its unmistakable sense of humor.

“El esporóforo es la fructificación del micelio (del latín mucus, el «moco»), el moho –los mohos son hongos–, moho subterráneo que forma una masa viscosa de filamentos enmarañados, el micelio. El esporóforo es donde tiene lugar la cópula, es el acto sexual en sí, la exhibición altiva y delirante a plena luz del día de una genialidad que acaba de revelarse, de despertarse, como en la pubertad. El esporóforo perfora la tierra al revés, la viola. Luego se alza, una vez que ha arrojado su semilla, se derrumba y se disuelve.

El hongo no es más que la realización de la fantasía erótica del micelio. Pero ¿qué diría él sobre lo que acabo de escribir? Si pudiera hablar, ¡menudas cosas me diría!”.

Brosse criticizes the current internet era, advertising and the media, pointing out how they consume time and cloud our mind, preventing us from paying attention to the events that surround us, such as the arrival of the swallows:

“Debemos, dicen algunos, estar al corriente. La actualidad, la moda, los medios de comunicación, la publicidad, internet: ésta es la corriente que los hipnotiza y los arrastra a una vida que ya no les pertenece. ¿Saben siquiera que las golondrinas han vuelto? Y dicen ir con los nuevos vientos. ¡Todo se lo lleva el viento!”.*

* The translator clarifies the word game: Here are two words of words hardly translated. The original indicates: «Et Ils is procendent dans le vent. Autant in Emporte-T-il! ». The expression être dans le vent means "being fashionable." The author has used it ironically to criticize that those who are attentive to everything current do not even know if the swallows have arrived. The Autant expression in Emporte-T-il refers to the French title of the novel and film what the wind took [Autant in Emport Le Vent].

In the same way, the writer pronounced again:

"How can you live without a mobile?" A friend asks me. «I live without mobile, without fax, without a computer, without internet, without television. I must not be normal. "

In his diary, Brosse Not only does it document observations on flora, birds and fauna in general, but also enters into Metaphysical reflections.

“Nuestro destino es la ejecución de una partitura que no descubrimos hasta que la interpretamos. Somos el instrumento y el intérprete. Pero ¿quién es el compositor?”.

The thinker reflects on the Meaning of his work and his work, that are in constant transformation, as well as their own identity. This process of personal and professional evolution leads him to question the relevance of his previous writings.

“Al final, sólo he sido un testigo, en griego martyros, un espectador, curioso de los demás y de mí mismo. Mi obra es un testimonio, lo que la hace ambigua para mí y para mis lectores. Evoluciona conmigo. Ya no me reconozco en mis viejos libros; para mí, son ruinas”.

Brosse capture Scenes of everyday life, like the attention that he and his wife provide to an old basket, thus highlighting the relevance of traditional trades and their artisans.

“El viejecito que ha venido a vender sus cestas en la feria de las flores de Saint-Vincent-de-Cosse, sentado en su silla de paja, nos dirige una mirada clara, asombrado de que por fin alguien se interese por lo que está haciendo, el fondo de una cesta”.

«This is the most difficult time. You see: you have to twist the strands and braid them as tight as possible. If the background is resistant, the basket is woven alone: ​​you just have to follow it. " We chose one. «They will like them. The wicker is still a bit green, but he will develop a patina and gradually acquire its definitive color, a beautiful grown brown. As you can see, I make them all openwork. When they return from the garden with their basket full of lettuce, they will drain alone. If the basket is dirty, it is enough to soak it in water to continue robust. The basketry is as old as the world, but it has never become better than now. "

Some reflections of Brosse, they can perfectly be interpreted as Aphorisms. Some examples:

"Lo que llamamos caos del mundo es sólo el desorden de nuestra mente”.

“Sólo cuando empezamos a ver con claridad podemos saber que antes no estábamos viendo”.

“Cuanto más convencidos estamos de que el otro está equivocado, más tenemos que preguntarnos si no lo estaremos nosotros”.

“El tiempo no son más que los latidos de nuestro corazón proyectados en el mundo. Antes, aún no existía; después, ya no existirá”.

Given the deep link of Brosse with the Zen Buddhism, after being ordered as a monk, some fragments of his work refer to this connection. Thus, you can identify the title of the book in Spanish:

"«Quien distingue entre el jardín y la ascesis no puede decirse que haya encontrado el Camino», escribió Musō, el gran maestro zen japonés del siglo XIV que creó los jardines que hoy admiramos”.

“La alegría del momento, la felicidad de vivir al día, un día tras otro, es también una ascesis. Cada vez que dormimos es una nueva muerte; cada despertar, una nueva vida”.

Brosse, an open mentality thinker, also appreciates a different form of spirituality. He sometimes retires to meditate on a monastery, and fixes his gaze in Benedictine monks:

“Mientras pasan de dos en dos entre los fieles, los examino uno a uno. Están los monjes canosos, encorvados, que sólo pueden caminar con dificultad, y los jóvenes, muy altos, muy rectos. En medio, nadie. Estos benedictinos ilustran la historia reciente de las órdenes contemplativas; tienen más de setenta años o menos de cuarenta”.

“Esos doscientos monjes que, al repicar la campana, se postran en el suelo, dieciocho veces seguidas, son mis hermanos, aliados o enemigos, ¡qué más da!”.

The book of Jacques Brosse It is undoubtedly a lovely work that It stands out for its naturalistic and humanistic approach. its Subtle humor Add a special nuance to reading, while the reflections it offers range between the deep and everyday life, inviting the Contemplation of universal metaphysical issues. Through its pages, you can see the connection with the nature and meaning of things. It is a book that must always be available, because we open it where we open it we can delight with the annotations of our thinker. It would be enriching that Peripheral will rescue his work of 2012, ITinéraire d'En Naturaliste Zen: Casterur à l'origin, as well as Autobiographie d'E enfant, published in 1999, to further deepen the life and thought of Jacques Brosse.