Master Zuang and a Frog
Metamorphisis*
Four men got in a discussion. Each one said: “Who knows how To have the Void for his head To have Life as his backbone And Death for his tail? He shall be my friend!”
At this they all looked at one another Saw they agreed, Burst out laughing And became friends.
Then one of them fell ill And another went to see him. “Great is the Maker,” said the sick one, “Who has made me as I am!
“I am so doubled up
My guts are over my head;
Upon my navel
I rest my cheek;
My shoulders stand out
Beyond my neck;
My crown is an ulcer
Surveying the sky;
My body is chaos
But my mind is in order.”
He dragged himself to the well, Saw his reflection, and declared, “What a mess He has made of me!”
His friend asked: “Are you discouraged?”
“Not at all! Why should I be? If He takes me apart And makes a rooster Of my left shoulder I shall announce the dawn. If He makes a crossbow Of my right shoulder I shall procure roast duck. If my buttocks turn into wheels And if my spirit is a horse I will hitch myself up and ride around In my own wagon!
“There is a time for putting together
And another time for taking apart.
He who understands
This course of events
Takes each new state
In its proper time
With neither sorrow nor joy.
The ancients said: ‘The hanged man
Cannot cut himself down.’
But in due time Nature is stronger
Than all his ropes and bonds.
It was always so.
Where is there a reason
To be discouraged?”
April 19, 2022
*The Way of Chuang Tzu, Thomas Merton, New Directions Press, 1965
Free Image Credit: Master Zhuang and a frog, Author Unknown, Public Domain, Wikipedia.