If you have attended one of my workshops, you would never been accuse me of having mastered the art of understatement. Paradoxically, however, my best learning has resulted from stories that understate. Here is a quick sampling of 4 of them.
1) The first is a short story I came across recently by Stuart Drybek in his book, Ecstatic Cahoots. My writing teacher Patricia Francisco read this story to me over the phone so I may not get it verbatim:
“You’re going to leave on your watch?” she said’
“You’re not going to take off your cross?” he replied.
This short story makes me smile and imagine and think. It invites me to create my own story and draw my own implications. This is a great reminder for a writer.
2) Here is a poem The Red Wheelbarrow by William Carlos Williams that lead me to practice asana as a means to study consciousness. It also transformed how I communicate about it. My friend Patrick Pelini brought it into my orbit about 26 years ago.
so much depends
upon
a red wheel
barrow
glazed with rain
water
beside the white
chickens.
3) Here is a Zen kōan that I came across about 23 years ago. It profoundly transformed my thoughts on the true heart of teaching. It transforms the model from a teacher handing students bits of knowledge to a shared dynamic of realization. This is from Zen Flesh, Zen Bones compiled and translated by Paul Reps. It’s called Kashapa’s Preaching Sign:
Anandu asked Kashapa: “Buddha gave you the golden-woven robe of successorship. What else did he give you?”
Kashapa said: “Anandu.”
Anandu answered: “Yes brother.”
Said Kashapa: “Now you can take down my preaching sign and put up your own.”
This reminds me that the magic is in the student’s willingness to be open, not in what the teacher has to say.
4) Finally, a joke: A skeleton walks into a bar and orders a beer and a mop.
This story reminds me that so many of our wants and desires don’t make sense. But at least, we can have the decently to clean up our own mess and order the mop too.
Wisdom is passed on with fewer words rather than more. This is something that we should all take seriously on our seeking paths. What are some of your stories?