why?
why do I have to?
novices ask, and ask
this one...the most
the tired monk wants to
dig zen deep
but he's got no roshi response
a back and forth of technique
tweed jacket teacher...no
fatherly love
pleas, emotion, logic,
a converse of silence
the tired monk responds:
duty
Yes, why indeed? And, sometimes, 'duty' is the only answer, with some people, that one can come up with.
ReplyDeleteNovices aren't generally satisfied with that answer, I have found!
ReplyDeleteHa... I really like:
ReplyDeletethe tired monk wants to
dig zen deep
but he's got no roshi response
http://lkharris-kolp.blogspot.com/2012/01/bubbles-and-whistles-to-tickle-your.html
The question, the answer and a wealth of unexplored territory in between.
ReplyDeleteI love it for its sparceness, but I'm a die-hard fan of the tired monk.
I love this life wisdom........and love it that the novices will learn duty - something most young ones arent taught any more. I so love the Tired Monk!
ReplyDelete"Dig zen deep". I'll remember that one.
ReplyDeletePithy choice of subjects for conversation! All the more clever when one side of the conversation is but a single word.
ReplyDeleteWhy? This question could drive a saint crazy. Duty is a pretty good reason for why.
ReplyDeleteFabulous.
ReplyDeleteNovices, still children inside, will always ask. "Duty" is a good response, better than the age-old Mom one: "Because I said so, that's why" but I suspect the real reason is impossible to explain: "Because, in the long run, you'll be glad you did."
I enjoyed this a lot.
K
tweed jacket teacher...no
ReplyDeletefatherly love
pleas, emotion, logic,
a converse of silence
And probably a case for 'unlearning' ?
The monk says "duty" but I often wonder if holy people themselves don't question as much as "we" do ... but the difference might be they question, and "duty" is enough to keep them going for a while until they find an answer. Which isn't altogether a bad thing... Some of us give up too soon...
ReplyDeleteLove this "pithy" style and I'm trying to adopt a bit of it for my long winded self... :)
Straight and to the point, But there is a lot unsaid between the quesion and answer, and that is part of the charm of the poem.
ReplyDeleteif only the one word, duty, were enough. (although less is almost always more, except in those rare circumstances when it is less.)
ReplyDeleteit seems to me there is a lack of understanding between, not only generations, but people in general, and this lacking is impossible to avoid for we are each on our separate journeys.
i think of the words i try to use to show my daughter. but in the moment to her it is only a flaccid word. until she inflates it with meaning, i might as well smack myself with a wet fish:)
xo
erin