SuitabookFishing for the Moon and Other Zen Stories
Lulu Hansen
- Reading
- Read one story at a time, pause before the concluding lesson, and ask what the pictures suggest. Then compare the child’s interpretation with the stated Zen teaching without demanding a religious conclusion.
- Themes
- Attachment and clear understanding: The moon-in-the-well story is described as involving mistaken understanding, excitement and attachment to being right. The story appears to use a mistaken interpretation to introduce Zen ideas about seeing clearly and loosening attachment.
- Fear and attention to the present: The Parable of the Strawberry is described as involving a man fearing for his life, panicking and clinging to a desired future. Its stated teaching appears to direct attention towards the present rather than a particular hoped-for outcome.
- Rules and irritation: The Girl on Muddy Road is described as involving a monk who is annoyed or angry after a rule is broken and remains attached to the rule. The book’s stance on this remains unclear.
- Worth knowing
- Some lessons may feel direct because each story is explicitly followed by a teaching. A child may benefit from treating those conclusions as invitations to think, rather than answers requiring agreement.