Pleasure!!!.‏

Pleasure

 

A Zen master was resting with one of his

disciples. At one point, he took a melon out of

his bag and cut it in two so that both could eat

it.

 

While they were eating, the disciple said:

'Wise master, since everything you do has a

meaning, perhaps your sharing this melon with

me is a sign that you have

something to teach

me.'

 

The master continued eating in silence.

'Your silence obviously conceals a

question,' the disciple insisted, 'and it must be

this: does the pleasure I am experiencing in

eating this delicious fruit reside in the melon or

in my tongue?'

 

The master said nothing. The disciple went

on excitedly:

49

'And since everything in life has meaning, I

think I am close to finding the answer to that

question: the pleasure is an act of love and

interdependence between us, because without

the melon there would be no object of pleasure

and without my tongue…'

 

'That's enough!' said the master. 'The real

fools are those who think themselves terribly

intelligent and spend all their time trying to

interpret everything. The melon is delicious, and

that's enough, now let me eat in peace!