03 Oct Koan 125
“He who speaks does not know, he who knows does not speak.” -- Lao Tzu Words emanate light. Sentences reflect light and cast shadows. He who speaks in sentences does not know the light. He who knows does not speak as speaking separates him from the light. He who speaks describes what he sees and hears. He who does not speak knows the nose knows, yet smells cannot be described by sentences. He who speaks is an actor in the play of life. He who know is the audience. For actors, the play is a tragedy; as every actor eventually dies, scripted out of the play. For the audience, the play is a comedy. The audience is the Gods. The Gods are always laughing at the actors (who are also Gods but rarely remember that they are) taking their selves seriously. He who laughs cannot speak. He who speaks is in the now. He cannot grasp the now, as a hand cannot grasp itself. He who knows the now does not speak as only from the silent space outside the now can he observe and come to know the now. He who speaks describes that which his consciousness creates; what his foveal vision carves out of peripheral vision. He who knows does not speak, as peripheral vision cannot be described with specificity. He who speaks creates a photo of the now. He who knows does not speak, for the now is a movie. He who speaks does not know, as descriptions are empty; the now that's described is now no longer. He who knows the now does not speak, as the essence of the now is nothing. He who speaks describes things that were and are now no longer. What's described are illusions. He who knows does not speak as there are no things. All there is is an everchanging flow. He who speaks is a dot in a painting. He who knows does not speak, for a painting is an infinite number of interdependent dots, A speaker's words are like the finite and precise space inside a square. The endless and everchanging now is like the imprecise space inside a circle. He who knows does not speak, for a circle cannot be squared....
24 Sep Koan 194
Life is a play; a tragedy for the actors and a comedy for the audience. A tragedy as every actor eventually is scripted out of the play and dies. A comedy as the actors that their selves seriously. People are the actors and the gods is the audience. We can always choose who we are, actors or gods....