Q. Why did the master say that his assistant forsook him?
A. Echu, called Kokushi, the teacher of the emperor, called his attendant, Oshin, three times and three times Oshin answered, “Yes!” Kokushi said, “I thought that I had forsaken you, but in reality you forsook me!”
Student: “Why did the master say that his assistant forsook him although he answered three times when the master called him three times?”
Master: “Because one of them is deaf.”
Student: “Which is deaf?”
Master: “Regardless of which of them is deaf, it is certain that you are deaf.”
Commentary:
The poor student thinks that it not because he is deaf but because his master doesn’t say the answer that he can’t hear the answer.
©Boo Ahm
All writing ©Boo Ahm. All images ©Simon Hathaway http://ow.ly/i/vB4Sr