In this era of COVID – 19 it seems like a good time to pull out a old classic Koan to help us understand what is happening to us and our collective lives during this pandemic.
At Nansen’s place one day the (monks of) the eastern and
western halls were arguing about a cat. When Nansen saw
this, he then held up the cat and said, “If you can speak, then I
will not kill it.” No one in the community replied.
Nansen cut the cat into two pieces.
This story about killing the cat is widely discussed in monasteries everywhere. Some say that the holding up is it; some say it lies in the cutting. But actually, these bear no relation to it at all. Dogen said, “Cutting into two is easy to see, but cutting into One is invisible…”
If Nansen were COVID – 19 and the cat were your LIFE…how would you speak? SPEAK! SPEAK!