Monday, April 30, 2007

Attention

An earnest student who comes to a master and asks for the highest and most secret teaching on the dharma. With one deft move the master picks up a brush, dips it in some ink and writes the word ‘Attention.’

Dissatisfied by this answer, the student presses for another, deeper teaching. The master takes up the brush again and writes ‘Attention. Attention.’

The student is highly unimpressed. ‘If you are a master, you should be able to give me more than that,’ he says. So the master sighs, and then he writes ‘Attention. Attention. Attention.’

- Zen parable

6 comments:

  1. and... the punchline is???

    ReplyDelete
  2. He's right.

    PS. Smart a$$! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  3. In Korea it's actually "Attention! Bow."

    I don't expect many people to get that one.

    ReplyDelete
  4. doesnt seem all that complex to me

    ReplyDelete
  5. teh buddha only taught 2 things:

    patience, patience, patience!
    attention, attention, attention!

    but your story is good too.

    ReplyDelete

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