I just wanted to tell a story...
Last night I dreamt I was talking to my former Zen teacher. We were at his house, and he was giving me a tour of his backyard that he was preparing for someone's birthday party. He had done major construction of cement benches and tables, plus a garden, He was worried about a bas-relief/mosiac buddha decoration that had a "spot" on it that he couldn't fix. I looked it and couldn't see anything wrong with it, and I told him not to worry.
The conversation reminded me of a story that I wanted to tell him. I got as far as "There were two monks," and he cut me off and said, "Tell me the verse that goes with it." I said, "It isn't a koan. It's just a story. I don't remember there being a verse that goes with it." But he wouldn't let me say any more about it. I got so frustrated, I woke up.
Of course, I couldn't fall back asleep. I can't remember where I read the story, but here is a version of it from this website: http://users.rider.edu/~suler/zenstory/nature.html
A priest was in charge of the garden within a famous Zen temple. He had been given the job because he loved the flowers, shrubs, and trees. Next to the temple there was another, smaller temple where there lived a very old Zen master. One day, when the priest was expecting some special guests, he took extra care in tending to the garden. He pulled the weeds, trimmed the shrubs, combed the moss, and spent a long time meticulously raking up and carefully arranging all the dry autumn leaves. As he worked, the old master watched him with interest from across the wall that separated the temples.
When he had finished, the priest stood back to admire his work. "Isn't it beautiful," he called out to the old master. "Yes," replied the old man, "but there is something missing. Help me over this wall and I'll put it right for you."
After hesitating, the priest lifted the old fellow over and set him down. Slowly, the master walked to the tree near the center of the garden, grabbed it by the trunk, and shook it. Leaves showered down all over the garden. "There," said the old man, "you can put me back now."
The nice thing about haiku is that they are easy to remember, so last night I composed one, then emailed it to my teacher this morning. (Since he asked for it in my dream.) I didn't give him an explanation in my email, so to him, it will just be out of the blue. The image was one that I took for our last art practise assignment, but didn't use.
Leaves. In the garden.
They fell from the tree last night.
Each
perfectly
placed.
The conversation reminded me of a story that I wanted to tell him. I got as far as "There were two monks," and he cut me off and said, "Tell me the verse that goes with it." I said, "It isn't a koan. It's just a story. I don't remember there being a verse that goes with it." But he wouldn't let me say any more about it. I got so frustrated, I woke up.
Of course, I couldn't fall back asleep. I can't remember where I read the story, but here is a version of it from this website: http://users.rider.edu/~suler/zenstory/nature.html
A priest was in charge of the garden within a famous Zen temple. He had been given the job because he loved the flowers, shrubs, and trees. Next to the temple there was another, smaller temple where there lived a very old Zen master. One day, when the priest was expecting some special guests, he took extra care in tending to the garden. He pulled the weeds, trimmed the shrubs, combed the moss, and spent a long time meticulously raking up and carefully arranging all the dry autumn leaves. As he worked, the old master watched him with interest from across the wall that separated the temples.
When he had finished, the priest stood back to admire his work. "Isn't it beautiful," he called out to the old master. "Yes," replied the old man, "but there is something missing. Help me over this wall and I'll put it right for you."
After hesitating, the priest lifted the old fellow over and set him down. Slowly, the master walked to the tree near the center of the garden, grabbed it by the trunk, and shook it. Leaves showered down all over the garden. "There," said the old man, "you can put me back now."
The nice thing about haiku is that they are easy to remember, so last night I composed one, then emailed it to my teacher this morning. (Since he asked for it in my dream.) I didn't give him an explanation in my email, so to him, it will just be out of the blue. The image was one that I took for our last art practise assignment, but didn't use.
Leaves. In the garden.
They fell from the tree last night.
Each
perfectly
placed.