Once gathering around a vat of vinegar,
All the three great thinkers
In the name of Lao-zi, Confucius
And Gautama Siddhartha
Caused three different reactions.
Upon dipping his finger and tasting it,
Lao-zi reacted with a sweet expression
As he saw life as good in its naturalness
Whereas Confucius did it with a sour face
In need of constant correcting men's degradation.
As for the Buddha Gautama's reaction,
It was as bitter as the sap of a barkless tree
Because he saw life dominated
By pain and continued suffering.
And all the three were right
From their standpoints: miss even one
And all go wrong. Looking inward
Or outward, tasting bitter or sweet,
The whole point is that there is no
The fixed self of men. Therefore,
Break in through the main gate
If you want to take your proper place
In the very centre of yourself where
Your own awareness will let you know
That vinegar has the vinegar taste,
And nothing more than that, my friend.
Another interpretation of the event
Is that since the three gathered around
One single vat, they thus represented
Three main aspects of one premise
Also known as the Triad or three-in-one,
The truly Practical Philosophy of life.
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I am of German heritage so grew up with vinegar as part of my diet. But I went to Germany for four days and found that, eating in the poorer, fast food venues in the cold weather just after Christmas, was far too sour for my taste. It was only in the sweet Rhine wines that were offered for an alternative to beer that I found a warm sweetness to counteract the cold sourness of food and life there in the dead of winter.
Ron
Alexander!
Always,
Deborah
Love ya!
Jane