Koan #17...

By Vichara

Koan Monday #17 “Gaze at the stars but walk on the earth”. Of course this Koan has an obvious message in remembering that even though we can dream it is always good to have some realistic stability in our everyday lives. But that of course assumes that we recognize these two fields of existence. We have perhaps seen some people who seem to live life in grand jesters and are at times oblivious to the world around them. Then there are those whose gaze seems to be figuratively cast downwards as if tied to every object around them. In so many ways we are like both of these teeter-tottering to both extremes. What this Koan of course is saying is to find the fulcrum point between these. Find a path of balance where we can retain the vision of dreams to accelerate of “hearts” while wearing really comfortable shoes. J

pedantic • \pih-DAN-tik\ • adjective

1 : narrowly, stodgily, and often ostentatiously learned

2 : unimaginative, pedestrian

Example Sentence:

Many students at the lecture were confused about what the pedantic professor was saying because he insisted on using highly elevated diction.

Did you know?

In Shakespeare's day, a pedant was a male schoolteacher. The word's meaning was close to that of the Italian "pedante," from which the English word was adapted. Someone who was pedantic was simply a tutor or teacher. But some instructional pedants of the day must have been pompous and dull, because by the early 1600s both "pedant" and "pedantic" had gained extended senses referring to anyone who was obnoxiously and tediously devoted to his or her own academic acumen.