Sorry I haven't updated or replied to you kids. Been busy packing and geting ready to move back to Raleigh, still am. And now, no internet for a week or two. 
Story time!!! Writing Zen koans is fun. Try it sometime, here's another i wrote. Ready??!?!?!?!?!?!!!!!!!!one!
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A rich and powerful lord demanded of the various Buddhist temples to erect a statue to signify the meaning of Buddhism. The idols had to be beautiful in every way possible in order to signify the beauty and creativity of Buddhism. Whichever temple won the contest would receive enough gold to build a new temple and more than enough gold to feed the temple well for a year. Each temple was given enough gold to build a wonderful statue. When the day of the contest arrived, it was a glorious site to see all of the statues. One temple built a solid gold statue of the Buddha resting, adorned with precious gems. Another temple created a bodhi tree wrapped in the finest silk and gold wire. A third temple constructed a wheel of the dharma out of silver, with a large ruby in the middle. As the temples assembled in the palace to show off their works, a single monk arrived from the forth. Carefully he positioned a mat upon the floor next to the statues. He sat down and stuck his walking stick in the ground next to him. Out of a sack he pulled a small and badly made statue of the Buddha. The other temples mocked the mans statue, which was quite common place and could be found in any small villages marketplace. The lord walked around and marveled at the wonderful and beautiful statues that had been assembled. When he came to the forth and saw nothing but the small statue, he grew angry. He shook with rage and shouted
You dare to mock me with this? What has happened to all the money that I have given you to build with? Where has this all gone, surely this statue did not cost that. You have stolen the money away and wasted it. I demand an answer or I will slay you on this very spot.
The monk sat there pondering the lords drawn dagger, and finally looked up into the lords eyes.
You are correct in thinking that this is indeed our statue. This is all that we have left, and we used all the money to buy this statue. You see we had brought a wonderful statue of the Buddha, made of gold, wrapped in silk and holding the largest emerald. However the village was suffering from famine, so we sold the emerald to pay for food for the village. At the next village we discovered that the village elder was dead. To pay our respects we gave the silk to have his body wrapped up in. We left that village and arrived to a village which was in devastation. A flood had come and washed away the bridges and roads of the village. We sold the statue to pay for the village repairs. All we had left was a few gold coins. When we entered this city, we found a family whose son had fallen ill. He makes clay statues of the Buddha, so we decided to buy one with the remaining gold. In the end all we have left is this statue. I am sorry I cannot stay to witness the competition, but I must go. I had promised that I would return to the boy and look in on him. Forgive me.
The lord stood there for a short while, staring at the monk.
I have chosen the winner of the competition. The most beautiful and luxurious statue is the winner. The statue which truly shows the wealth of Buddhism is the one made of clay. For truly this statue is the most treasured of all.
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Story time!!! Writing Zen koans is fun. Try it sometime, here's another i wrote. Ready??!?!?!?!?!?!!!!!!!!one!
============
A rich and powerful lord demanded of the various Buddhist temples to erect a statue to signify the meaning of Buddhism. The idols had to be beautiful in every way possible in order to signify the beauty and creativity of Buddhism. Whichever temple won the contest would receive enough gold to build a new temple and more than enough gold to feed the temple well for a year. Each temple was given enough gold to build a wonderful statue. When the day of the contest arrived, it was a glorious site to see all of the statues. One temple built a solid gold statue of the Buddha resting, adorned with precious gems. Another temple created a bodhi tree wrapped in the finest silk and gold wire. A third temple constructed a wheel of the dharma out of silver, with a large ruby in the middle. As the temples assembled in the palace to show off their works, a single monk arrived from the forth. Carefully he positioned a mat upon the floor next to the statues. He sat down and stuck his walking stick in the ground next to him. Out of a sack he pulled a small and badly made statue of the Buddha. The other temples mocked the mans statue, which was quite common place and could be found in any small villages marketplace. The lord walked around and marveled at the wonderful and beautiful statues that had been assembled. When he came to the forth and saw nothing but the small statue, he grew angry. He shook with rage and shouted
You dare to mock me with this? What has happened to all the money that I have given you to build with? Where has this all gone, surely this statue did not cost that. You have stolen the money away and wasted it. I demand an answer or I will slay you on this very spot.
The monk sat there pondering the lords drawn dagger, and finally looked up into the lords eyes.
You are correct in thinking that this is indeed our statue. This is all that we have left, and we used all the money to buy this statue. You see we had brought a wonderful statue of the Buddha, made of gold, wrapped in silk and holding the largest emerald. However the village was suffering from famine, so we sold the emerald to pay for food for the village. At the next village we discovered that the village elder was dead. To pay our respects we gave the silk to have his body wrapped up in. We left that village and arrived to a village which was in devastation. A flood had come and washed away the bridges and roads of the village. We sold the statue to pay for the village repairs. All we had left was a few gold coins. When we entered this city, we found a family whose son had fallen ill. He makes clay statues of the Buddha, so we decided to buy one with the remaining gold. In the end all we have left is this statue. I am sorry I cannot stay to witness the competition, but I must go. I had promised that I would return to the boy and look in on him. Forgive me.
The lord stood there for a short while, staring at the monk.
I have chosen the winner of the competition. The most beautiful and luxurious statue is the winner. The statue which truly shows the wealth of Buddhism is the one made of clay. For truly this statue is the most treasured of all.
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