I volunteered to run an art project for my daughter's fourth grade class and was given the theme of Japan. I planned a simple, pretty painting project of cherry blossoms and started with a great children's book called Zen Shorts.
Without really thinking about it, I found myself leading these children to consider some principles of Zen. I'm no expert, I just liked this book. Here is a paraphrase of the favorite Zen Short.
The Farmer's Luck
A farmer worked his crops for many years. One day, his only horse ran away. His neighbors came over, shaking their heads and said, "Such bad luck!"
"Maybe," said the farmer.
The next day, the horse returned with two wild horses. The farmer's neighbors came over and exclaimed, "Such good luck!"
"Maybe," said the farmer.
The next day, the farmer's son tried riding one of the wild horses and was thrown, breaking his leg. Again the neighbors came over and said, "Such bad luck!"
"Maybe," said the farmer.
The next day, military officers came through the village to draft young men into to army and head off to war. They saw the young man's broken leg and passed him over. "Such good luck!" his neighbors exclaimed.
"Maybe," said the farmer.
Big Changes
7 years ago
3 comments:
How did they receive the lesson?
It sounds like a cool idea, too.
We could all use a littleZen in our lives, right?
I was wondering about you and if you had given up posting! Glad to see you.
The kids were really perceptive about the lessons from the three short stories. It was wonderful to see them considering that events aren't necessarily good or bad - life just happens, that anger should be released instead of carried, and that the best gifts aren't things.
Don't give up on me! I'm just turning into a weekly poster.
2 of my favorite Zen stories:
A student went to his meditation teacher and said, "My meditation is horrible! I feel so distracted, or my legs ache, or I'm constantly falling asleep. It's just horrible!"
"It will pass," the teacher said matter-of-factly.
A week later, the student came back to his teacher. "My meditation is wonderful! I feel so aware, so peaceful, so alive! It's just wonderful!'
"It will pass," the teacher replied matter-of-factly
and:
When the spiritual teacher and his disciples began their evening meditation, the cat who lived in the monastery made such noise that it distracted them. So the teacher ordered that the cat be tied up during the evening practice. Years later, when the teacher died, the cat continued to be tied up during the meditation session. And when the cat eventually died, another cat was brought to the monastery and tied up. Centuries later, learned descendants of the spiritual teacher wrote scholarly treatises about the religious significance of tying up a cat for meditation practice.
tee hee...I love Zen stories...
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