FIGURE 47. Dewdrop, by M. C. Escher (mezzotint, 1948).Mumon's Commentary:
Old Nansen gave away his treasure-words. He must have been greatly upset.
Mumon's Poem:
Nansen was too kind and lost his treasure.
Truly, words have no power.
Even though the mountain becomes the sea,
Words cannot open another's mind.In this poem Mumon seems to be saying something very central to Zen, and
not making idiotic statements. Curiously, however, the poem is self-
referential, and thus it is a comment not only on Nansen's words, but also
on its own ineffectiveness. This type of paradox is quite characteristic of
Zen. It is an attempt to "break the mind of logic". You see this paradoxical
quality in the k6an, as well. Concerning Mumon's commentary, do you
think that Nansen was really so sure of his answer? Or did the "correctness"
of his answer matter at all? Or does correctness play any role in Zen? What
is the difference between correctness and truth, or is there any? What if
Nansen had said, "No, there is not any such teaching"? Would it have made
any difference? Would his remark have been immortalized in a k6an?
Mumon and G6deJ 249