Fireplace Records, Chapter 24
Shifu Miao Zhang asked Chang San-Feng,
"When you Meet the Black Dragon, What Will You Say?"
Chang San-Feng knew of one grey Carp
Who struggled upstream
Until he broke through
The daunting Dragon's Gate;
And became himself a Wise Blue Dragon.
As a child he knew a few words
Of the Language of Dragons;
Spoken by Puff, the Magic Dragon,
who lived by the Sea
In the Lands of Honah Lee.
He knew of the Vast Ocean Dragon
Who's tides ruled fishermen's lives.
Chang did not know the Cold River Dragon
Whose floods drowned millions.
He read about the Deviant Western Red Dragon
From the Lands of Smaug,
Guarding Treasures beyond Measures,
Greedy and Angry in a burning fog.
He once learned that
Yunmen's Cane transformed into a Brown Dragon,
Who swallowed the East Sea,
And rained on the Entire Universe.
He once heard the Lonely Dragon
Howling in a Withered Tree;
Who Saw all the World's Sorrows,
From his Eyes in a White Skull.
At the Edge of the Dragon Pool,
At the Midnight Hour,
The Dragon Master blew out
The Candle of Delusion.
At dawn, after dreaming of Dragons,
He awoke!
There was a Green Dragon
Curled up on his bed.
In fear, he brandished his cane;
Rebuffed, the Green Dragon Departed.
Shifu Miao Zhang asked Chang San-Feng,
"When you meet the Black Dragon tomorrow;
What will you Say?
What will You Do?
A Student's Considerations:
Literal and Figurative - A Balancing Act.
When Playing with Words we sometimes stumble and fall.
When we remember clearly, that's one way of knowing.
True or False, Correct or Incorrect ... useful duality in many ways.
Be alert and cautious around Dragon Masters.
Ideas about Things are Not Things Themselves.
Ignorance can cause Fear!
The word "Fire" cannot burn your fingers.
Dragons moving in the sea give birth to earthquake tsunamis. No!
Dragons symbolized Emperors in China.
The Door to Past is Closed and Locked,
But we can still See the Past
Through the Windows of Memories.
Related Links, Comments, Essays, Resources, References
Koans: BCR 60, DSMS 28, DSMS N 104
Dragon Qigong By Mike Garofalo.
Pulling Onions Over 1,043 One-line Sayings by Mike Garofalo
Chinese Chan Buddhist and Taoist Stories and Koans
Fireplaces, Stoves, Campfires, Kitchens, Pots, Firewood
Subject Index to 1,001 Zen Buddhist Koans
Brief Spiritual Lessons Database Project: Subject Indexes
Sparks: Brief Spiritual Lessons and Stories
Matches to Start a Kindling of Insight
May the Light from Your Inner Fireplace Help All Beings
Taoist, Chan Buddhist, Zen Buddhist, Philosophers
Catching Phrases, Inspiring Verses, Koans, Meditations
Indexing, Bibliography, Quotations, Notes, Resources
Research by Michael P. Garofalo
The Fireplace Records
By Michael P. Garofalo
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