OLD JAPAN: SATORI NIGHT AT THE MOVIES

In Minamata I meet the venerable Sooti to exchange Koans. Koan riddles open the third eye to see that problems are not real but conceptual. Who cares what picture you see?

First he questions my Koan about the edible cats on Mount Fuji who hate watching ladies’ volleyball.

Sooti scratches himself, under his robe: “But who hates watching ladies’ volleyball? I don’t believe it!”

“Well ask the the cats yourself,” I reply. “They will not deny it!”

Now his eyes blaze with Satori. He has opened the gateless gate.

In return, Sooti gives me a Koan to reflect upon, which suggests that the worms in Kyoto rely on the wind to dislodge fleas from their moustaches. I am mystified and meditate until the moon rises, then shake my head until he empties the cup: “Inspect a worm’s moustache,” he cries. “The fleas are gone!”

At these words I am enlightened: his answer defies logic perfectly. When the monkey reaches out for the moon in the river, he must first let go his branch...

© Mike Atkinson