The Squashes
This is one of Claudia's favourite quotes, and when she gave it to me, it became one of mine. I finally found an archived copy squirreled away in some long forgotten email folder. What with all that's going on in the world, I thought I'd share it with you.
The Squashes
Once upon a time there was a bed of squashes ripening in the corner of a field. One day they began quarrelling. The squashes split into factions and made a lot of noise shouting at one another. The head priest of a nearby temple, hearing the sound, rushed out to see what was wrong. He scolded the wrangling squashes saying 'Whatever are you doing? Fighting amongst yourselves is useless. Everyone do za-zen (meditation)!'
The priest taught them all how to sit properly in za-zen and gradually their anger died away. Then the priest said, 'Put your hands on top of your heads.' The squashes did so and discovered a peculiar thing. Each one had a stem growing from its head which connected them all one to another and back to a common root.
'What a mistake we have made!' they said, 'We are all joined to one another, based on the same root and living one life only. In spite of that we quarrel. How foolish our ignorance has been.'
Kosho Uchiyama Roshi
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"As the Devil's smoke slowly drifts out of New York, fear and rage and madness walk in." Ashes to ashes at Salon.
Yesterday? Questions answered II.
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Heather Champ
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thursday, october 04