Koans

I don’t know how many people are familiar with the idea of a koan, but I am drawn to them. A koan is a paradoxical anecdote or riddle. They are used in Zen Buddhism to demonstrate the inadequacy of logical reasoning and to provoke enlightenment. Jesus’ parables are comparable to koans because they force us into deeper, life-changing thoughts.

One of my favorite koans comes from Niels Bohr, the Danish Physicist. He said, “The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement. But the opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound truth.” In my mind, this has become, “The opposite of a great truth is also true.” I think about this all the time. For example, words are important and have consequences. Yet from Game of Thrones comes the statement, “Words are wind,” while the elementary school rhyme tells us, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”  Both ideas are true. Words can hurt us, but words can also have no power at all.  Another one I think about all the time is the fact that our lives are long.  Long enough to explore, dream, love, but our lives are also very, very short.

Carsie Blanton’s song “Little Flame” explores another paradox: a single person is insignificant, but a single person may make all the difference. The song references heroes of liberation and labor movements who may have been anonymous in their own time, but whose actions helped change the world.  Every day is inconsequential, while every day is supremely important. What we do today may not matter in 100 years, but what we do today will also help determine what life looks like in 100 years.

Giving to Peace is a koan. When you give, you should have less. Yet when you give to Peace, you have more.  It is a mystery. The opposite of the truth is also true. Giving can result in less, but giving can also result in more. What you receive is more connection, more mission, more music, more sermons, more community—more, more, more. So, please give.

Holy One, thank you for ideas that stretch us.  Help us to move beyond logic and to accept that some ideas are so meaningful they stretch human capacity to comprehend. Help us to trust that what appears to be less can sometimes become more. Amen.

Michelle is a wife, mother, sister, and friend, a chocolate and coffee lover, reader of books, listener of podcasts, and a travel enthusiast.