A student joined his master in the garden.
The student asked his master, “Is abundance freedom?”
There was a brief moment of silence, then the master bent over, picked up a rock, and handed it to the student.
The student accepted it and looked at the rock.
The master nodded.
And the student looked back at the rock. And then looked back at the master.
The master said nothing.
A long time passed before the master bent over again and handed the student another rock from the garden.
The student balanced both rocks in one hand and then transferred one to his left hand, just as the master recovered another rock from the garden and handed it to the student.
Then another. And another.
His master handed him too many rocks and the student’s hands were overwhelmed. The rocks fell from his grasp and littered the path near his feet. The student quickly crouched to the earth, anxious to sweep up the rocks again.
While the student kneeled to collect the rocks he dropped, the master placed just one rock perfectly balanced on the top of his own bald head, smiled, and walked away.
s1m0n
2 comments:
So.....,
What's the attribution for this piece? Did you write it yourself?
Moreover, what's the connection to Polyamory for you?
How do you interpret, digest, take-in this piece in relation to your Poly Triad?
Hello akaJeff -
I wrote it ... during the last 30 minutes of watching Glee last night, in fact :) ...
Abundance. It's a core idea in poly and a lot of times, I hear people talking about polyamory as offering more freedom in relationships.
Myself, I think the koan would suggest otherwise. In it, I'm kind of making fun of myself ... I'm pursuing another potential partner. There's a lot to juggle and manage in polyamorous relationships and, with the koan, I'm responding to that perception that poly offers more freedom than monogamy.
Thanks for reading/responding!
s1m0n
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