Lol! Yeah, funny. I also saw the irony in a letter about don't-know. No wonder people with insight often laugh when asked a question. They sit silence because of the paradoxical bind of not being able to answer without lies.
Less specific, but more funny would be: 1) What is this don't-know stuff 2) Shrug, I really don't know! Rod Scholl -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Ian Sent: Sunday, April 17, 2005 7:02 PM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: [Zen] beyond knowing Actually, credit for the good koan goes to Doug. Credit for writing a letter describing the taste of "only don't know" goes to Rod. :) I would call this failed attempt "Ode to the proper use of knowledge." Tasty and nutritious, Rod, thanks! Ian > Ian Writes: >So what is this "only don't know" stuff? > >Lol! Is that a clever joke? I think you've written a good koan: > >The student asks, "what is this only-don't-know stuff?" >The master replies, "you have written me a letter, asking where you can >learn to write. In your next letter describe to me the taste of an >orange. Call your failed attempt an "Ode to the misuse of Knolwedge". > >Its funny that for me, I was in a panic about knowing which stuff I >needed to know, given the huge body of knowledge in human history. It >seemed a puzzle of, given limited life, selecting which pieces to use >and hoping my intellect was sufficiently trained to mesh the pieces >together and grasp the Ultimate Truth. I walked around knowing the >odds were stacked against me -- but I knew I couldn't give up knowledge >because it seemed the only ticket out of this sometimes unhappy place. >However, once I recognized my first don't-know (for me it was >over-thinking how to breathe and fucking it up even worse) and I >realized a new side of existence. I had created a monologue of >knoweldge describing everything I encountered, via prediction, >psychology, entropy, physiological knowledge of thinking, etc -- and of >course I knew I hadn't grasped the ultimate truth because this >narration was a pathetic attempt at descrbing a taste of an orange. >Now the don't-knows far outweight the knows, dwarfing my collection of >smart things to think into a small pathetic pile. I know knowledge >(having experienced it) and I know I've eaten an orange. I don't-know >what an orange tastes like. If im interested I will eat one for a reminder. > >I thought when I reached the boundary of knowledge I would find an >Ultimate Truth, or at least have a lot of people kiss my ass for taking >the human endeavor a step further. Once I realized I'd been stomping >all over the 'boundary' inside and out, and claiming I couldn't see any >of my foot prints in the don't-knows, I then got a whole chunk of life >given back to me from myself. My horizone expanded to have both >knoweldge and lack-of-knowledge. I can't even quite remember what made >me think knowledge was more important then everything else in living... >I suppose I was pretty unahppy then, and the knoweldge did work quite a >bit. I just forgot to put it down after the storm passed. > >(obviously I like talking about my little discoveries... It takes my >mind off the fact that my hairs on fire :) > >Rod Scholl ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Would you Help a Child in need? It is easier than you think. Click Here to meet a Child you can help. http://us.click.yahoo.com/0Z9NuA/I_qJAA/i1hLAA/S27xlB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Noble Eightfold Path: Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration, Right Livelihood Yahoo! Groups Links ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Would you Help a Child in need? It is easier than you think. Click Here to meet a Child you can help. http://us.click.yahoo.com/0Z9NuA/I_qJAA/i1hLAA/S27xlB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Noble Eightfold Path: Right View, Right Intention, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration, Right Livelihood Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZenForum/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
