Ah, trick question no doubt! Tasty question though from the Zen Master Hakuim Ekaku (1685-1768)...he came up with this neat little koan.

Known first as a spiritual seeker and teacher he was immersed into Zen Buddhism at the age of 14. He gained considerable fame as monks and ordinary people flocked to hear him lecturing, etc. It was not until he was 60 that he began painting. (So who says age has something to do with learning?). He was no dabbler as he created abstract works containing mythological figures and something of a satirical touch. Hakuim was named a 'master' of it, however.



One of his calligraphy pieces depicts a monkey writing on a wall and another of a blind man consulting a one-eyed goblin. His poetry, however, is very much in-line with all that Yoga talks about (not yoga exercise but yoga yoga....just to be clear).

An ant goes round and round without rest
Like all beings in the six realms of existence,
Born here and dying there without release,
Now becoming a hungry ghost, then an animal.
If you are searching for freedom from this suffering
You must hear the sound of one hand.
These are still resonant words.
Take a break from the clamorous rat race of modern life.
Just listen.

Rats, squirrels and other rodents remind me of my father. Losing his self-control and almost out of desperation he said quite passionately to me,

"I just don't want you to end up like me. Like a squirrel going around in a cage."

He was talking about his life in the corporate world.

Funny, what you remember...and what a poem can uncover.