Ko Un - Two beggars
Ivan M. Granger September 8th, 2008
Two beggars
by Ko Un
Two beggars
sharing a meal of the food they’ve been given
The new moon shines intensely
/ Photo by Mr. Kris /
I find this short poem deeply moving. My first instinct is to say it is filled with compassion, but that’s not exactly what this poem is about. Ko Un isn’t telling us to see the hunger of these two beggars and to feed them. There is something else going on. He is, instead, calling on us to see not two beggars, but two human beings in communion, expressing their humanity even in their extremity. These two beggars aren’t objects of pity; they have become our teachers.
The two are hungry, yet they share the very little they have with one another. They have given us a moment to see a human connection at its most desperate, yet most profound moment.
In that simple act of human communion, something heavenly is recognized. And we, the witnesses, are that much more alive, awakened from our own spiritual lethargy, as a result.
The new moon shines intensely.
|
Ko Un
Korea (1933 - ) |
Ko Un was a witness to the devastation of the Korean War. He volunteered for the People’s Army, but was rejected because he was underweight.
He became a Zen Buddhist monk in the 1950s, and returned to secular life sometime in the 1960s.
Ko Un became an activist opposing the harsh and arbitrary rule of South Korea’s president, President Park Chung-hee. His dissident activities led to several terms of imprisonment and torture.
The democratization of South Korea in the late 1980s finally gave Ko Un the freedom to travel to other countries, including a visit to the United States and make a spiritual journey through India.
He married in 1985 and had one daughter.
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Absolutely brilliant and moving!
[Kindly check the spelling of my name! it is Sankarkumar and nor snkarkumar!:))]
Hello Ivan,
Thank you so much for gracing my e-mail box with your insightful, compassionate, and determined presence daily.
Without your efforts my life would be altered, there would always be an emptiness that you and your chosen poems have filled. Thank you again, please keep on contributing to the spiritual realms and delievering messages of wellbeing, and happyness to all those in question.
Sankarkumar,
Glad this poem touched you…
And I apologize about the misspelling of your name. I’ll make sure it gets corrected.
Ivan
I also see the brilliant reflected light of the sun in the moon that illuminates the beggars. The beggars’ willingness to share with each other fills their stomachs and illumines their souls. Reading this powem reminded me of Dogen’s line about the world being moonlight reflected in a dewdrop. Here the dewdrop is the two beggars. What brilliant light they reflect!
Layne,
Messages like yours mean a lot to me as I do this work. It is my genuine pleasure.
Ivan
Dear Ivan,
If only the world wore your cloak of kindness and light. Bless you my friend.
Thank you for such a beautiful message, Letitia!
Ivan
Thank you for choosing a poem by Ko Un. I might add to your commentary that the reason we see these beggars not as objects of pity or derision but as human beings is because he springs from them to the moon. To me, it dramatically changes the perspective from the mundane (earthbound, local) one, to one that is universal, eternal, cyclical. In Zen Buddhism, one tries to maintain that perspective in everything one does.