hotdog vendor replies to zen master
Master Toji, tell me how a simple
man like me, a hot dog vendor,
could bring together two great
things: the universe, a roaring
wind; and this serene old man who
sits before me, looking like a
pebble in an untouched pond?
My toes have never touched the
dusty monastary floor, and neither
have my fingers spread the pages
of a holy book. These legs have
walked but city streets, not
paths to caves where hermits wait.
My arms have reached to hand out
hot dogs, warm and greasy, pleasing
not to heart or soul but to only
to the senses; Never have I
handed out a single flower to a
passing stranger. Who am I
to help you out? I'm just a
simple hot dog vendor.