Zen Mondo Practice uses puzzling or perplexing questions or situations to encourage us to explore our deeper self and bring us back to our compassionate and wise nature. Here is one such koan. I encourage you to sit with it.
Four Zen pupils who were studying meditation had promised to observe a rule of silence for seven days. On the first day all were silent. The meditation session had begun well, but when night came and the oil lamps were burning dimly, one of the pupils finally couldn’t help himself and said, “Someone should fix those lamps!”
The second pupil was shocked to hear him speak and cautioned him, “We are not supposed to say a word.”
“You idiots!”, said the third pupil, “now you’ve both spoken.”
“I am the only one who has not talked,” proclaimed the fourth pupil.
Nothing to fix. No specific answer. No problem. Just mindfulness.
Paula
