22 August 2008 Friday

Koans conversation

If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him.

…
I don’t know what that means.
I’ll ask Wikipedia/Google.

Dad: you know, people are using Google more and more to answer all kind of big life questions now..
like, “what should I wear today?”, “what should I do this weekend?”
At least Google probably gives better answers than a Magic 8 Ball.
But people have always used all kinds of devices to answer questions like that: Some people use the bible and go with whatever passage they randomly open to; some use the i-ching.

And now we have Google.

Dad: What color shall I wear today? Yahoo has answers.
WikiAnswers — what should you wear today?

Back to the koan.. Google indeed has the answers. This one’s pretty solid.

Another koan (apparently):

What is the sound of one hand clapping?

Koans are trick questions, asked by taciturn men in robes or sarongs, or taciturn men who’d rather be wearing robes or sarongs.