No.204
"Truly," Said the sage, "In a boundless field, all possibilities must at last manifest themselves. Only an immeasurable distance of space and time keeps us from them."
One disciple spoke: “Oh sage, how shall we overcome such an insuperable obstacle?"
But already the sage had retreated into his cave. He would not speak again for a long time—perhaps longer than the interval within which his followers could hear or understand the answer to their questions.
No.205
Rajuna opened the scroll and read from it—and all came into accord, just as he had foretold: Love triumphed throughout the universe, resounding through the measureless infinities like a great bell.
That glorious, all-seeking sound could be heard ringing throughout absolutely every atom in creation except for a small point in space no larger than an apple core that was buried in the chest of a man who made as if to speak but held his tongue at least a dozen times each day.
No.206
He is struggling with a puzzle made of some clever bits of wood that have been locked together. The pieces have been set in such a way that only a definite series of movements can unlock them. He unlocks the pieces, and they fall from his hands and clatter to the floor.
Now: Where has the puzzle gone?
No.207
Honji’s disciples asked him how the universe was created.
“The beginning,” Said Honji with a smile “was simpler than you can possibly imagine."
No.208
A man commits a monstrous crime, and he chooses not to confess until after the statute of limitations has expired.
The magistrate watches the man until he commits some small transgression, at which point the magistrate delivers unto the man a punishment that matches the severity of the greater crime.
The moral is this: When guilt is infinite, no punishment is too severe.
No.209
Honji asked his disciple: "What is the one thing that cannot be taken from you?" In that moment, the disciple was enlightened.
No.210
The burglar robs the hermit of all his food bowl and his robe. The hermit strokes his beard and wishes that he could give more to the burglar (so pure is his heart).
The next night, the burglar returns and takes things from the hermit that the hermit did not even know he had.
No.211
The cat dreamt that the dog devoured him.
Later, the cat told the dog about his dream. The dog scoffed and told the cat that it was absurd.
Your knowledge of cats should make it easy for you to predict what the cat did next.
No.213
From the ancient legend, nothing survives but images: a man, a monster, the rolling ocean, the wide blue sky.
It would be too much to ask for anything more.
No.222