FIGURE 51. Puddle, by .W. C. Escher (woodcut, 1952).(Fig. 48)-pictures that play with reality and unreality the same way as Zen
plays with reality and unreality. Should one take Escher seriously? Should
one take Zen seriously?
There is a delicate, haiku-like study of reflections in Dewdrop (Fig. 47);
and then there are two tranquil images of the moon reflected in still waters:
Puddle (Fig. 51), and Rippled Surface (Fig. 52). The reflected moon is a
theme which recurs in various koans. Here is an example: II
Chiyono studied Zen for many years under Bukko of Engaku. Still, she could
not attain the fruits of meditation. At last one moonlit night she was carrying
water in an old wooden pail girded with bamboo. The bamboo broke, and the
bottom fell out of the pail. At that moment, she was set free. Chiyono said,
"No more water in the pail, no mort~ moon in the water."Three Worlds: an Escher picture (Fig. 46), and the subject of a Zen
koan:^12A monk asked Ganto, "When the three worlds threaten me, what shall I do?"
Ganto answered, "Sit down." "I do not understand," said the monk. Ganto
said, "Pick up the mountain and bring it to me. Then I will tell you."(^256) Mumon and Godel