My Teacher is a Cricket

I came to Japan to discover more Zen.

My teacher is a cricket.

I live alone in my tiny traditional Japanese home, mostly empty.

It is silent, peaceful, still.

Ah, but for this cricket.

He is now my constant companion.

He chirps when I arrive and chirps late into the hours of the night.

Since I could not sleep in the middle of the night and had nothing better to do I decided to look up why crickets chirp. I read that male crickets chirp to call for their female mate or protect their mate from other males. Finally, I could understand my new friend. I could relate to his situation. I could say, I’m in this with you, my brother. So now his chirping no longer bothers me.

We are kindred spirits.

It is a song we both sing together into the night.

I have compassion and understanding for his suffering.

I have more Zen.

This a watercolor artwork I did prior to coming to Japan. Sumi brush painting.