h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Two Zen masters were trying to come up with the perfect Zen koan.

They sat for three weeks without speaking or moving.

One of the masters began to cry, though nothing had happened. Then he was silent again.

Three weeks later, the other master wiped a tear from his eye and said, "Yes."

They rose, bowed to each other and left, never to meet again or to speak of the experience.

Three weeks later, I wasn't there, either.

Three weeks after that, a fox, passing nearby, caught a rabbit.

Barton

I sat waiting for the two Zen masters to arrive and compose the perfect Zen koan.

Three days before they arrived, a fox, passing nearby, caught a rabbit.

AFter three days, they arrived. I fed them rabbit stew. To one of them I gave the rabbit's skull, to the other I gave the skull of the fox.

They bowed to me and left, never to meet again or to speak of the experience.

Three days later, I ate the rabbit.

Barton

You're welcome abbi. In fact the little story was looking for a home, and i thought this was just right. I'm sorry to say i like this one also:

Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them you're a mile away and you have their shoes.

Hi abbi, great idea.

There is some stuff to read here, My partner is a real swat at all the esoterica and I bet she will be interested. I'm not sure I have much to offer though . Deb tells me that gods etc. are most usefully thought of not as "outside entities", but as representing of myriad aspects our own inner selves, and the cultural archetypes that inhabit our minds. To me this sounds a lot like Daniel Dennett's memes, a theory to which I do not subscribe, preferring to think of us as self constucted hybrids, the result of evolutionary forces and our own drives.
Numbers can be incredibly fascinating, 5 and 9 are considered to be powerful yang numbers, not to mention 81, clinical psychology reckons that immediate attention varies little in individuals, and we can hold only 7, + or - 2, objects in our attention at any time, but this does not account for the medium term secondary processing that allows us to track complicated environments like conversation.
Wicca suggests the threefold return with regard to deeds committed, but I won't go into that, I think, and save you all from my ignorance.

The contemplation of magic is one of the most beautiful things our minds can do, and I like to think about it a lot; my kids are right now immersed in the latest Harry Potter.
I don't think though, that any Zen practitioner would find much magical about their discipline.

The following traditional tale is not really Zen, but like it and it keeps me dreaming.

A Piece Of Straw


There was once a man whose name was Yohei.
He had a kind heart but,
alas, he was very poor.
Every dey he would go too the shrine
and ask for help
to find him a good job.

On the day of Yohei's hundredth visit
to the shrine, the air suddenly turned cold
and in the chill wid came a message.
"Take heed of that
which first comes to your hand."

Yohei ran from the shrine,
"Hooray! Hooray!" he called,
then CRASH!
He landed at the foot of the stone step,
and there he lay.
Suddenly Yohei realised
that he was holding something in his hand.

It was just a piece of straw.
Yohei was disappointed,
but not discouraged.
To brighten the straw up
he tied a passing horsefly to the end,
and off he went.

"Waa...Waa...Waa..."
The peace of the day was shattered.
A small boy was screaming and crying.
His poor mother looked very worried'
she just did'nt know how to calm him.

"What's the matter?
How can I help?" asked Yohei.
"Here look at this,
would you like it?"

Yohei amused the little boy
with his horsefly straw.
Soon the crying stopped
and the little boy brightened up,
his sorrows forgotten.

"Oh thank you, thank you,"
repeated the mother,
"Please, take these mandarines
they are very sweet."

So Yohei exchanged his horsefly straw
for the sweet mandarines
and with a hop and a skip
off he went.

Not long after, Yohei came upon a traveller
slumped by the roadside,
his face was deathly pale and he was moaning.
"What's the matter? How can I help?" inquired Yohei.
Ooh, I have travelled too far, too fast,"
groaned the traveller,

"I am so thirsty I think I am going to die."
"Don't do that," said Yohei,"I have just the thing for you .
"Here eat these sweet mandarines
and you will feel much better."
With a small sigh of regret, Yohei watched as his mandarines
were thirstily eaten by the traveller.

The traveller soon felt much better
and was on his feet again.
He turned to Yohei,
"You are a generous man.
Please accept these as a token of my gratitude."

Yohei was dumbfounded.
In his hands he now held
two beatuful rolls of silk.
Never had he dreamed of owning such treasure.
And so, his heart singing with joy, on he went.

Yohei carried the rolls of silk
with great care.
Ahead of him on the road
was a tremendous commotion.
A horse lay collapsed in the dirt,
unable to move.

A man was pullng at it
trying to make it stand up.
"Oh please stop," cried Yohei,
"That poor horse needs a drink."

"That's too bad,"
snapped the man,
"I am in a great hurry."

In desperation
Yohei prodduced his treasered rolls of silk.
"Wait, please,
I'll exchange you these rolls of silk
for your horse."

Of course the man eagerly made the swap
and hurried off
thinking how much money he would make
with the rolls of silk.

Yoheistroked the horse gently,
"Come on boy, come with me.
There is plenty of cool water
and sweet grass
not far down the road.
Come on now.

The horse struggled slowly
to the river bank.
Yohei felt content
as he watched his new friend
eat and drink.

Before long they were both refreshed.
On they went,
Yohei whistling a merry tune.

Yohei and his hose had not gone very far
when a man came running out
of a nearby house.
"Please, stop," he called to Yohei,
"You are just the man we need."
He then explained,

"My master has just received
an urgent summons from the Emperor
and must leave immediately,
but his horse is lame,
may we have yours
in exchange for this house and land?"

Yohei could only nod his acceptance of the offer.
"I must be dremaing,"
he mumbled as he stood
looking at his house and land.

"Let's away!"
Ordered the Samurai
as he mounted the horse
an thundered off with his men in attendance.

Day after day
Yohei toiled from orning till night.
Soon his farm became
the most prosperous in the village.
Yohei and his new wife hel a party
to celebrate thier happiness and good fortune.

Everyone in the village was ther
and late into the night
could be heard the sounds of singing and laughing.
Then Yohei told his story
which had begun with just
a piece of straw.

eggs
rosi



]

Here I go correcting myself again... I meant to say Experimental Psych.

Thanks you rosi!
That one is a favorite of mine too.
I think it is one of the earliest ones I read, so I really like having it here
You have good eggs!

rosi, story~

The zen disciple asked the master, "Is it true that anything is possible?"

The master's response "Yes. But, it is also true that anything is impossible."

Thanks for that one Fnord Prefix
Good one!

Ah, I thought it'd been a bit too quiet on here for a while, and I liked that one for being short, sweet, and applicable in modern philosophy.

The sound of no zen stories.

*quietly rearranging zen rock garden*

*Loudly rearranging Zen particles of air*

*appropriate in the summer*

*I wish I had Maxwell's Demon*

*Interesting particles about, maybe some of Maxwells or Douglas Adams dna are sprinkling over us*

Bbbbuuuuzzzzzzzzzzz

Sound of one wasp flapping.. in the warm darkening sky.. overhead being chased by bats... flapping... overhead... overhead... darkening sky... overhead... deer overhead on the ridge.. skylined... on the ridge... deer disappearing on the slope beneath the ridge... beneath the darkening sky... overhead... too much overhead... cut your staff... do it now... and for three weeks nobody ain't ate nothing... for three weeks too much overhead... not enough underfoot... tripping in the darkening night... flapping feet underfoot... underfoot... by the creek... splashing... sneaking underfoot... beneath the trees overhead...

Bats on another thread too!