Joshu’s Cat

A monk asked Joshu, “Has a dog Buddha-nature or not?”
Joshu answered, “Mu.” — Joshu’s Dog, The Gateless Gate

The way of the cat is the whim.
I open the door, the cat sits.
I close the door then he mews.
I get this is a teachable moment
but I’ll be damned if I can tell you
what a door is when it’s not a door.
What I do know for sure though is this:
when one door closes another opens
leading nowhere you want to go.

First published in Sonic Boom, April 2022