- Q:
- What is this one frog mooing stuff?
- A:
- Old pond.
Frog-jump-in.
Plop!
-- Matsuo Bassho (1644-1694)
-
- Q:
- OK, that’s a nice image but it doesn’t say much.
- A:
- The less the better. One is equivalent to the other, frogs and moos.
-
- Q:
- Seriously...
- A:
- A frog without cows must do its own mooing and plopping.
-
- Q:
- Does this have something to do with the old saying about the sound of one hand clapping? Are you attempting to be more clever than you really are?
- A:
- That is a koan, the one-hand thing.
-
- Q:
- And?
- A:
- Foolishness that a Zen master would use to drive an earnest student crazy -- a puzzle that can’t be solved by thinking. The sound of one hand clapping is a koan. Frogs don’t know this, or so we had all thought....
-
- Q:
- Do frogs moo? No. How do frogs and cows equate? And how would you prove that you’re not just another screaming idiot?
- A:
- A monk once asked "Does a dog have Buddha-nature?" Joshu said, "Mu", literally meaning "not" or "no", but that isn’t the answer, it’s the question. Buddha-nature is all-pervading, so "not" isn’t sense, but non sense. A good start. Cows have been quietly grinning in meadows all these years, whispering together and chuckling with their little frog buddies.
-
- Q:
- So where does that leave us, then? Beyond confirming that you’re an idiot, I mean -- do you have anything adult to say?
- A:
- Lightning flashes,
Sparks shower.
In one blink of your eyes
You have missed seeing.
-- Mumon
-
- Q:
- Now that one isn’t bad. A shame it isn’t yours. You can quote well, but you’re not actually all that bright, are you?
- A:
- Frog plop in, mooing. Cows rip grass with their great teeth, wondering if clown noses come in extra large sizes. Gravel crunches underfoot as I walk by, blithely missing absolutely everything, just bright enough to breathe and walk.
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© Dave Sailer ~ 2001-2008 ~ One Frog Mooing