Zen, in honor of Shang Li...

[Cybermancer]

[Robyn]

Actually Hannah, I pointed out to Cybermancer the first time he told this parable around me, that bulls don't talk, and even if they did communicate in some other form, it would have been focused on each trying to drive away the other as male, domestic bovines of breeding age don't often tolerate each other.

He told me not to take it so literally. And based on the context it is often used, I don't think it has anything with the bovines sexual moors either, but rather how young people waste their energy.

[Hannah]

Hi Robyn,

Well then maybe he shouldn't waste his energy using such bad examples.

Hannah

PS: of course cows talk, we just don't knw how to listen.

[Cybermancer]

[Robyn]


Hanna wrote:

Well then maybe he shouldn't waste his energy using such bad examples.

And here I thought that was the very core of what Zen was/is. Using word icons to describe truth when they are poorly suited to do so. Perhaps I misunderstood?

As for talking bovines, they do not speak with words as we do but they certainly do communicate. The difference in the form of communication can lead to misunderstanding. Yet anyone who has seen a bull charge will testify that they can get the message across when they really need to.

[Hannah]

Hi Robyn,

Of course they use words, they just don't use very many of them because they aren't all that smart and don't have much to say. All they want to do is eat grass, chew cud and sleep. The bulls are the same except they also like to fight and have sex with the cows.

You can stay around a cow a whole week and it won't say anything, but eventually, if your careful and listen right, you'll hear them.

Hannah

PS: If you want talkative animals, listen to the pigs, they are always going on about something or other. Oh and the chickens, what a bunch of gossips.

[Cybermancer]

[Robyn]

Hannah,

I'm afraid I've never heard any animal speak. Nor do I think I will ever be able to. I do not have the right sort of ears.

But I am curious, what do chickens gossip about?

[Hannah]

Hi Robyn,

Well you see the hens like to boast about how many eggs they've laid and how well their chicks are doing, but since we take all the eggs, none of the chickens have any eggs to boast about. So the chickens start rumours about each other so that nobody notices that they don't have any eggs.

Hannah

PS: They don't seem to realize that none of the other chickens have any eggs either.

[Cybermancer]

[Robyn]

Hannah,

I can't imagine that chickens are overly bright. Nor are most gossips, to my understanding.

[KonThaak]

They weren't very bright when I raised them on the farm back in Kansas, either. We had a crane that would light on our garage, which was separate from the main house, and was right next to the chicken yard. When it landed on the garage, the chickens would freak out a bit, and start running around squawking like crazy. Then the crane would hold really still, and watch them, until the idjits had forgotten he was there... Then he'd start flapping his wings and squawking, and they'd all freak out and panic all over again.

You could literally hear the crane laughing at them. He made a regular appearance several times a week, for most of the summer one year, then stopped showing up at all. The chickens never figured it out. The crane thought it was great fun.

And they say animals don't have a sense of humor...

[GhostSpider]

This goes to prove that not only is the crane a wise bird, its got a great sense of humor too.

[Clarity]

_____I’ve been wondering . . . since Mr. Shang is back, does that mean we should still honor his memory?
_____What do you think, Mr. Shang? Should we still honor your memory?