P'ang; Making Waves

One day, the Layman was out for a walk with Tan-hsia when they came across a deep, clear pond.

The Layman gestured toward it and said, "Consider this!¹ Can you devise a way to make use of this?"

Tan-hsia said, "This is obvious! A way to use this can't be devised."

The Layman then splashed the water onto Tan-hsia twice.

Tan-hsia said, "Stop this! Stop this!"

The Layman said, "You asked for this! You asked for this!"

Tan-hsia then splashed the Layman three times saying, "So now what else are you going to do with this?"

The Layman said, "There's nothing left to do."

Tan-hsia said, "There aren't many who have such luck."

The Layman said, "Who has had such luck?"

- Green's The Saying of Layman P'ang

1. Translator note: The word "this" has a "loaded" meaning in this anecdote: the fullness of reality in the present moment.

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Just a little refreshing change from "I am this" and "I am that" and "me me me".

Submitted November 28, 2018 at 12:56PM by sje397 https://ift.tt/2rhyimF