Aug 23 2024
Ko Un – Two beggars
Two beggars
by Ko Un
Two beggars
sharing a meal of the food they’ve been given
The new moon shines intensely
— from This Dance of Bliss: Ecstatic Poetry from Around the World, Edited by Ivan M. Granger
/ Image 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.
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| What?: 108 Zen Poems | Ten Thousand Lives | The Three Way Tavern: Selected Poems | Little Pilgrim: A Novel | Flowers of a Moment |
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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 a daughter.
Thank You Ivan for this poem, very simple and short. But your commentary touches
a deeper meaning, two human beings sharing their humanity. And I loved the Thought
for the Day. Thank You for Poetry Chaikhana!
It is a real art to pack so much into so few words, reminds me of the Haiku model. Beautiful!