Perfecting the art of the living contradiction.

Sunday, February 18, 2018

Strawberry koan

Having some fun with the strawberry, mice and tiger koan. So true to life, it feels like therapy.


In case you don't know this koan, here it is from www.ashidakim.com/zenkoans/18aparable.html

Buddha told a parable in sutra:

A man traveling across a field encountered a tiger. He fled, the tiger after him. Coming to a precipice, he caught hold of the root of a wild vine and swung himself down over the edge. The tiger sniffed at him from above. Trembling, the man looked down to where, far below, another tiger was waiting to eat him. Only the vine sustained him.

Two mice, one white and one black, little by little started to gnaw away the vine. The man saw a luscious strawberry near him. Grasping the vine with one hand, he plucked the strawberry with the other. How sweet it tasted!

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