If you immediately know the candlelight is fire, then the meal was cooked a long time ago.
this post was submitted on 02 Aug 2025
17 points (94.7% liked)
Ask Lemmy
33731 readers
1258 users here now
A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions
Rules: (interactive)
1) Be nice and; have fun
Doxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them
2) All posts must end with a '?'
This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?
3) No spam
Please do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.
4) NSFW is okay, within reason
Just remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com.
NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].
5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions.
If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.
6) No US Politics.
Please don't post about current US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world or !askusa@discuss.online
Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.
Partnered Communities:
Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
I used to have a favorite Zen koan, but I no longer feel an attachment to it. (/jk)
if the brain was simple enough for us to understand ; then we wouldn't be able to understand it.
There is a wonderful story about Ikkyu, a Zen monk who lived in the fifteenth century in Japan. It seems the governor of the province where Ikkyu lived posted a sign next to a twisted and gnarled pine tree. If you’ve hiked in high altitudes, or along the coast, you can often see trees like this – trees that have been sculpted by the artistic winds and rain they are exposed to. The sign read, ”Whoever can see this crooked pine tree as straight will receive a prize.”
“People who walked past the tree and read the sign stopped and tried to figure out this riddle. How could they see this crooked tree as straight? Many people circled the tree, some several times. Others laid flat on the ground and looked up from below. A few climbed the tree and one person brought a ladder so as to get a glimpse of the tree from above the crown. “But nobody figured out how to see the crooked tree as straight.”
“So the riddle went unsolved and word of this challenge spread throughout the province.”
“One day Ikyu came walking by and read the sign. He looked at the tree and immediately went to the governor’s estate. He claimed, ” I have solved the riddle and would like my prize.” Somewhat surprised, and perhaps a bit suspicious the governor asked, “how did you see the crooked tree straight?” And Ikkyu answered, “It is crooked.” A crooked tree is crooked and to see it “just as it is” is to see it straight.”
FIVE TONS OF FLAX
When you can't do anything, what can you do?
If you return your bones to your father and your flesh to your mother, where will you be then?
I made one myself in my native Dutch language.
The word for 'rope' is 'tauw', which is pronounced like Tao.
'ik kan er geen Tauw aan vastknopen' literally means 'i can't tie a knot to it' but means 'i don't understand a thing about it'.
So: ' Ik kan er geen Tao aan vastknopen' is kind of a koan.
There's nothwhere on which to grasp it
If you have ice cream, I will give it to you.
If you have no ice cream, I will take it away from you.
This is an Ice Cream Koan.
None, I hate them.