Zen koan: When is the morning the morning?
By emptychair
@innertalks (23742)
Australia
May 31, 2022 7:20pm CST
The Zen master, was seated at his desk, writing an entry into his diary. It was 3 am, in the morning.
It said that, in the morning, he will give a new koan to his students.
This is the new koan that he wrote down that morning, early in that morning.
What time is morning to the bird?
And so, later that morning, he did give that koan to his students, and then he asked them for their reply.
One student said,
"When the sun is up, a bird sings to the sun."
Another said,
"There is no morning to a bird, just a light-up time, depending on the season."
A third student said,
"What is the bird to the morning?"
The last student then gave his answer:
"Time lives as itself, and so does the bird to itself. Nothing else matters to the bird. We should be the same. Live as our self."
"Ah,"
said the Zen master.
"Which one of you is a bird?"
Photo Credit: The photo used in this article was sourced from the free media site, pixabay.com
The morning is new each day! A bird knows this. So should we!
4 people like this
4 responses
@Nakitakona (59987)
• Philippines
1 Jun 22
The morning is broken because of the dawn. And it's another day.
2 people like this
@innertalks (23742)
• Australia
1 Jun 22
Yes, dawn dawns in a new day, and dusk closes it off again.
A lot of animals only ever come out at dusk and dawn; the Australian platypus, being one of them.
@innertalks (23742)
• Australia
2 Jun 22
@Nakitakona That is true. I have some of these types of plants in my garden here too.
@Nakitakona (59987)
• Philippines
2 Jun 22
@innertalks Not only animals but some plants do. They bloom in the morning and close their flowers at dusk.
2 people like this
@RebeccasFarm (91297)
• United States
1 Jun 22
Yes many people live in the darkness however and abhor the morning time.
Not me, I am a morning lover.
2 people like this
@RebeccasFarm (91297)
• United States
1 Jun 22
@innertalks Oh yes I think a human needs light..not sure what those are who live in eternal darkness.
2 people like this
@innertalks (23742)
• Australia
1 Jun 22
@RebeccasFarm God seems to think that too. He said, "Let there be light," and his son said that," I am the light, and the truth, and the way."
So we need the light to see the truth, and to help us on our way. These three are connected together, and one supports the other, it seems too.
@innertalks (23742)
• Australia
1 Jun 22
I am more alive in the mornings too, and I do not like to do things in the afternoon, where, I like to relax, after having already done a good morning's work.
If we live in the darkness, can there be a new darkness, or are we just in the dark, all of the time, though?
We need light, love, and levity, to lift us out of our darkness, and it has been proven that those who live in darker parts of the world, actually suffer more depression, and are less happy, than those who live in the sun, or the light, with more light in their days.
2 people like this
@Shiva49 (28390)
• Singapore
1 Jun 22
Other species live for the moments and they are more true to their selves.
We have some luxuries thrown in to stretch our legs.
Rather than using time at our disposal wisely, we tend to be busybodies.
We act more as spoilers in the whole scheme of things.
Time to learn from the "measly" birds
1 person likes this
@innertalks (23742)
• Australia
1 Jun 22
"The early bird catches the worm," an old saying goes.
When we blindside ourselves to seeing the truth early enough in our lives, we often then miss out on the sustenance that this truth can provide for us, and so we live more in the dark then, than in the light.
1 person likes this
@innertalks (23742)
• Australia
2 Jun 22
@Shiva49 Yes, tomorrow never takes care of itself, unless we are taking care of it today.
If we do not realise this truth, nature might spring a nasty surprise, or two, on us tomorrow then instead.
@Shiva49 (28390)
• Singapore
2 Jun 22
@innertalks Yes, we need to get our priorities right and live in consonance with nature.
When in doubt, look at other species that do not waver from the traditional path.
We get carried away with a take anything goes and tomorrow will take care of itself.
Riding roughshod over nature is not on.
1 person likes this
@erictsuma (9725)
• Mombasa, Kenya
1 Jun 22
I live as per my own time and schedule , I don't have specific time to play and work I'm flexible
2 people like this
@innertalks (23742)
• Australia
1 Jun 22
It's good to be flexible, but the seasons have their reasons too.
It is usually considered that we sleep better during the night hours.
Work and play hours can be more up to us, though, that is, if we are not being controlled by other factors, such as clients/customers/bosses etc.
Time marches on as the same time for everyone, though. We all have only 24 hours in our day.
