Monks' idle conversations  "LESS THAN NOTHING"

See, a candle-lit Tea Room in Old China- smoky wood fire: stained wooden tables and stools; men from different walks of life, some with their pots of tea, some with wine: different conservation all around, some boisterous and unwelcome, most subdued and intimate: just the place to be with a friend or two after the day's toil.

Several monks relax in one corner, in a dreamy mood and in a contented mood, putting their cares behind them.   One speak,

  " I wish to be the ink on a brush."

  " I wish to be the paper."

  " Although useful, these are still things."                

  "  Then I wish to be Nothing."

 " But, we do not know what nothing is "

  " Alright, I wish to be the open doorway."

  "Oh I see, I wish to be the space in the bowl."

  " I wish to be the accommodation of the eye."

  " I wish to be the capacity of the Heart.

  " I wish to be a shadow."

  " I wish to be a dream”

  " I wish to be a shadow in a dream."

  "   Ah！"                

   By Gladys

  21 Aug. 2009