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K'ang 5
As told by Jerry M. Pickard
"Quiet, Boy, and look!" said K'ang. "See the Herons dance? They seldom come up here from the Marsh."
"What am I to see?" the boy asked.
"First beauty, then ritual, then purpose. They dance to choose a mate."
K'ang and the boy watched the sinuous movement of the birds, moving in patterns as old as time itself. Guttural sounds, rustling wings, posturing towards each other, then away.
Finally, the female accepted a male. And the dance ended. Barring death or disaster, the two birds were bonded together for life, and each year they would nest in the same place.
"See, Boy!" K'ang said. "In everything there is nature, in the rocks, the birds, plants, animals, everything!" He raised a hand to stop the boy from speaking.
"See this, Boy! they do not study, they do not make foolish noises about learning. They do not need to ask questions, they only do what is inside them. For all things, this is bodhi… Why then do you want to learn, when what you must understand is nothing."
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