Three times the master’s question
three times the student’s response
each time, the same answer
each time the master shrinks
as answer surpasses question.
There is no master
there is no student
there is only the lamp
in two sets of hands.
A reflection on case 11 of the Mumonkan (Gateless Gate) koans.
800 year old wisdom – very nicely expressed in verse. The best middle and high school and university teachers know this. May I send a copy of your poem with your name to our teen’s teachers?
But of course, with pleasure.
Thanks, Lou. I feel that’s something their middle school excels at, which is uncommon.