Proverb 4: Even monkeys...

 Here is today's proverb:

猿も木から落ちる

Here it is just in hiragana:

さるもきからおちる

And in romaji:

saru mo ki kara ochiru

Literally, "Even monkeys fall from trees."

The idea is that someone can be a complete expert, as monkeys are experts in climbing out in trees, but even an expert can make a mistake, as monkeys can fall from trees. I can relate this to meditation practice because of the "monkey mind" that is always distracting us... and monkeys have monkey-minds too! They are very good at climbing trees, of course, but when they fall down, I wonder if it is not because they let their own monkey-mind distract them!

monkeys in a plum tree

My vocabulary for today:

猿
さる
"monkey"

Haiku 3: The frogs cry: this rain...

Here is today's haiku:

蛙なくやとりしまりなき草の雨

And in romaji:

kawazu naku ya torishimari-naki kusa no ame

And English: "The frogs cry: this rain on the grass is out of control!"

This is a poem by Issa, one of many haiku by this poet about animals — and on that topic, see the brilliant book by David Lanoue, Issa and the Meaning of Animals: A Buddhist Poet's Perspective. Here is his comment about とりしまりなき: "The phrase he uses to translate their croaks, torishimarinaki, is an old expression for being "negligent" or "lax," especially in the sense of lax government. Issa humorously portrays the frogs as citizens protesting a state of anarchy in the weather." Of course, the weather is always out of control; the weather is one of my favorite metaphors for letting go and not trying to control things... because you cannot control the weather.

My vocabulary for today:

雨
あめ
"rain"

Parable 3: The 84th Problem

A farmer came seeking the Buddha. "I have so many problems," she said.

Then she explained: the lack of rain, the endless work, corrupt officials, her lazy husband, her ungrateful children.

Finally she paused, and the Buddha replied, "I cannot help you. You might fix one problem, but another will come. Life will disappoint, your family will die. You too will die. So many problems. We all have 83 problems, and there's nothing you can do about that."

"Then what good is your teaching?"

"The teaching can help with the 84th problem."
"What's that?" 

"Wanting not to have any problems."

~ ~ ~

I've seen this story retold widely, specifically with the numbers 83 and 84, although I do not know the origin of this story or those numbers; I most recently encountered it in a wonderful collection of dharma talks by Katherine Thanas: The Truth of This Life: Zen Teachings on Loving the World as It Is. I suspect it is a modern story, which is fine of course: we need the old stories, and we need new ones too.

Buddha statue

Proverb 3: Covering your head...

 Here is today's proverb:

頭隠して尻隠さず

And in romaji:

atama kakushite shiri kakusazu

And English: "Covering your head, but not covering your butt."

This is like the ostrich with its head in the sand: if you cover up your head but leave your butt sticking out, that's not good; you are not protected that way. I suppose I could relate this saying to the general foolishness of the human condition: we worry about so many material things, while neglecting the path. And the satirical sense of having your butt sticking out has a nice Zen bite to it I suppose! The head as illusion; the butt as reality.

I wasn't sure what image I could use for this, but when I googled the saying in Japanese, lots of images came up: this must be a popular saying in Japan! And there are other people, like me, who obsess about cat images ha ha. Here's one I found as an illustration for this proverb... the page has lots of cute pictures, but I liked this one best:

My vocabulary for today:

頭
あたま
"head"

Haiku 2: Killed an ant...

Here is today's haiku:

蟻殺すわれを三人の子に見られぬ

And in romaji:

ari korosu ware-o sannin-no ko-ni mi+rarenu

And English: "Killed an ant. Seen! My three children were watching."

This is a haiku by Kato Shuson. The English translation is a bit awkward while the Japanese is so clear and simple: the poem pivots around the ware-o, "me" — the children were watching me. Other translations I've seen add another verb: I see, I realize, etc. But there is no verb like that; it just says, "the children were watching me," but putting the "me" first, which we just cannot do in English. So, I opted for "seen!" in the sense of "I was seen."

I thought this was an important to include because of ahimsa, and all the insects and other living beings we kill, on purpose (as here) or inadvertently. Or the other things we do that we would only do in secret, with no one watching — as if that makes any difference in our action, especially when it is an action we have chosen intentionally.

The saying also reminded me of a brilliant anecdote I read in a Buddhist book recently about a fly in a cup of tea: Cherish Every Being.

art by Hitoshi Kiyohara

My vocabulary for today:

蟻
あり
"ant"