It seems so obvious
my mind is spilling out on every side
life's a brief candle
and the river's very wide
my cup of tea is running over
trying to make a point
can't solve this with another retreat
can't solve this with another joint
who is pouring out the wisdom
where does the spilt tea go
I can't see the point in crying
how was I supposed to know
If the pot has finally run dry
if the saucer's spilling too
soaking down into the carpet
maybe I can share some tea with you.
You can read an explanation of the origin of these lyrics here
1 comment:
This series of 101 songs is based on 101 Zen Stories (or Zen Koans) which I read in the collection Zen Flesh, Zen Bones compiled by Paul Reps and Nyogen Senzaki. It is easy to find the stories by googling 101 Zen Stories, and the book remains in print. I read this book based on a passage from Daniel M. Pinkwater's book of essays Chicago Days, Hoboken Nights in which he writes:
"I used to know all about Zen Buddhism. In fact, I was a sort of walking encyclopedia of Zen. I had read all the Zen books. I gave a report on Zen in a class in college and got an A for it. At the drop of a hat, I would explain Zen to anyone who would listen... One of the things I knew about Zen - and it turns out to have been the only thing I knew that was so - was which book about Zen was the best."
I don't know anything about Zen, a fact you will find stated explicitly if you search for the word within the content of this weblog: nevertheless, I found these songs easy and enjoyable to write.
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