Garem Stories

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On Illustrative Stories
Garem Tales
The Educated May Know Stories
First Flabbergasted, Next Martyrised?

WHAT IF one-layered tales favour inconveniences later? And what if many-layered tales tend to make young ones bolder? In Waldorf Education things like that are taken as facts.
Now, there are more than one way to jump over a brook. In his book Oriental Humour, Reginald Horace Blyth lays bare that there are very many sides of maturing, and some come pretty close to humour.
Both strange and familiar humour may have several layers. Not everything is one-layered. Below we "knit" together Zen stuff with the innate-looking fancy stuff that no one hears around here. Just see what we find -

Illustrative stories

YOU AND I may admit that there are good points in many stories that run more or less as jests. If we don't, there is the danger that many Swedes get annoyed. That would be too bad.
You have to be judicious on your own. Neat selectivity is good far and wide. Go for that. Below you find the gist of many "Ashlad recipes", and below that again you can be led into the top of Zen in a quite folksy way.

Friekish may be coming good

It can work fine to make drawings for a growing, independent soul. It's good schooling.
Otherwise, the value of this and that myth and tale may not be so obvious. Yet, the cosy tale genre allows for wide range of adaptations and professional tailoring. [Cf. Nov 11]
The very endearing tale lives on, even if its main thread seems fictitious. Possibly surreal or freak elements have to be taken well care of, so that art can blossom as back in ancient Greece. In one sense our forthcoming tales relate to a place midway between Bergen and the north wind, roughly said. nowadays.
As for other "culture heroes" out there at the fringe of the Atlantic, they don't talk much and may have the wind in their face. Published canon may be rare. Good off-hand tales can border on jokes through some off-hand, or terse, or pregnant, or candid or vivid style that none takes offence by till next morning - or maybe never. To find gross humans or animals enact and portray titbits for us, at times makes us laugh softly.
Good tales may or may not embody stuff fit for minor ears. Further, the off-hand distancing elements that fables and folk tales abound in, can help overcoming certain deep snares or fears that otherwise go against better living. Sobering up helps a bit. However, figurative elements found inside deep jokes ad poignant fun, may be called treasures handed over. In fact, our mind is so devised that it thinks by internal figures of many sorts. It helps to stay cultural.
Good tales are of many sorts. Some of them have probably served to warn young, inexperienced children against sleek strangers and others wearing "masks", says Drs. Bö and others. [See Nov 61]
Some cosy stories go into rudimentary customs tied in with conditons that are no longer.
According to professor Lutz Röhrich, the fairy tale may mirror the real world or a social niche in it, somehow. [See Nov 61]

Howdy THE BEST tale can contain features included in real, historical personages and maybe not. It depends on the eye that see. Let's compare. The story of Garem contained here, is in fact an infringement on several Zen stories.
The folk tale can be fantastic and realistic at the same time. [Nov 60] The little collection of Garem tales is neither. But its forerunner is both lovable, weird in the Zen fashion, and claims to be real and top. You can compare for yourself. As a matter of fact, I liked fashioning this Garem story for you all.
Between the lines it is meant for warning against being taken in by subtle canon that may or may not use unrecognised, but snub demagogy. Alien "kings" of Zen or Buddhism or yoga can be the worst sort of bedfellows, the Bible says in 1 Samuel 8. Now, believe as you have to. Inside an unchecked belief ther may be a dormant id urge - What can the reason be? It may be the most sensible thing to dive into on top of what you're led into here, for no reason at all.

Garem Stories

A PENETRATING life in three parts: Hardingism of this sort in part linked to sermons by the Zen roshi Daisetsu Suzuki found here. The term 'roshi' can sound much like the Norwegian råskinn - a very brutal guy, one that may end up without friends, like the expert truth-teller.
Garem of the tales is a common-looking Norwegian fisher.

Irresistibly silly at first look, and yet whole-heartedly artistic, perhaps?

We could accept that nothing particular happened in the life of Hairy Garem on the border of the frantic Atlantic Ocean

THE OLDTIMER Garem lived on the tiny island Herdla off the coast around Bergen as a very hard-working, coughing worker. Let's invent his lovely anecdotes have been found in a document left by a viking-old, rich and stately clan that slowly died out, they say. With it we lost a reservoir of costy stories stories to grow up by, so as to avoid hard coughs.
This modest hero Garem once visited the very old church left on his little island in the North Atlantic Ocean. As soon as he came in, he went on to stretch himself and make himself very comfortable, contrary to cramped, mediocre local custom. Our man looked at the crusifix hanging there and said, "Ding dong, I shall go back to my parent's home later on today" - and then he cleared his throat.
He sailed to them in a sailing ship and had much beer. Now a brisk storm arose in the frantic Atlantic. It was so fierce that the sea threatened to hurl Garem overboard, down into a wet place that seemed like hell. Looking at the brine, the others lost their faith in gravy and invoked the aid of El Capitan of the sea.
Garem, however, slept soundly, he felt lulled by tossing by the waves. For he was drunk like hell. His friends waked him and asked how he could sleep in the disaster:
"Are we still here in the world?" our hero queried back.
The boat shipwrecked. Two fellows survived, by clinging to the keel of the capsised boat. One of them was oddly enough Garem.
"Now we all have to pray to El Capitan of the air for help," someone sobbed.
"Isn't there someone closer at hand to go to?"
Garem drifted ashore near his parent's home and changed his clothes before he laughed a lot and went into a potato field. He work hard in it till he got tired. Hard work took the fear down, or away. Suddenly a desire to play with a doll crept over him like a cool refreshing breeze. So he took it out and set the little thing beside him:
"You too will enjoy this breeze," he muttered to it.
He was like that in the absence of a cat or rigid role-play. You have to agree all these acts could be signs of the supreme apostle, really magnificent and truly extraordiinary acts, in other words acts that common men hardly discern from nonsense.
Become like little children, I say. They do such things too: The regular child makes an invented living being out of a doll and plays well.
Back in Buddhism, the leader Daihatsu Suzuki from Japan feels it fit to point out that incidents that resemble these - sound sleeping amd wise play - can be signs of deeply religious groveler, all dwelling in some world (loka) apart - let's hope that.

NEXT DAY Garem had to go back to his own place. He fell ill while travelling, on top of all that he had been through, so one of his friends carried him home on his back like a sack of potatoes and left him at the threshold of his home, saying,
"Now that you're back, be at ease, please. Now you've had your fill." Old Garem said pertinently, "Thank you. Pure emptiness is always found inside my closet. Now I can empty my bowels over fear." Read it metaphorically; then it becomes interesting.
Garem opened his door and went in. Right then his closest neighbour yelled,
"If you die from what you've been through, we will see to it that you have a fine tombstone".
He answered, "I'll never lie". He did not see things around him in the same light any longer. This attitude can be illustrated in terms of Herdla Zen: like a great pure voidland inside the toilet it's here, only hidden for most part by some sombre dark lid.
This accomplished practitioner of Baby Zen really had no cause to be afraid of dying. He laid down on his couch and rested the whole day and night. Next morning he felt stiff and quick-tempered. Anyhow: If he wanted to sit up carefully, he sat up. Otherwise he could die." It's exactly the same with the baby, if only we can see.

AFTER having some bitter food, Garem fell asleep again. He dreamt he was a child on his tiny island. The island of the baby was never tossed up and down during hurricanes from southwest, even though it could seem that way for the newcomer og beginner. Nor did snowflakes falling down from the sky, really make anyone soar upwards into heaven, and Garem noted that as much as he could. He kept a dreamer's diary next to his pillow, just to make sure he could stick to the basic insights from deep inside, those he sifted - He minded that any sorts of lifting experiences by blunt, fishing demagogy did not work all right no matter what.
So the jolly-looking Norwegian of fisher descent hardly identified himself with any bizarre expressions from Faroffland, including Japan. He never bothered to cope by terms alien to his domain, so he hardly lost good control. Nor did he break off the contact with turmoil, swelling, foaming waves by tall or great sayings from intruders that really wanted to compete - like the first and foremost diablo. He often drew a needed demarkation line:
"Never hail great sayings that hail some intruder complaining about Super-Christian missionaries, my man. Our culture and tact is not theirs, for most part."
Then something truly wonderful happened. The very hidden Harding master manifested inside him in the wink of an eye, coolly nodded, agreed and decreed,
"Nothing may be better than a common intruder becoming a Herdla-like coughing sort of jerk. That should help the many true dwellers on our small islands towards the west - those who settled there and liked the wind in their face. None has left such activity to any Buddha".
Eventually the House of Garem broke down and fell.

Edgar Allan Poe

"The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allan Poe (1809-49) was influenced by many of his experiences. The main theme of the text is about becoming victim to gradually evolving terror, and the house is a symbol of the personality that deteriorates and breaks down. [Link]
The tale also relates to being an editor . . . [Link]
People in New York did not find Edgar Allan Poe's works interesting. More specifically, "he faced criticism and minimal recognition" there, and moved to Pennsylvania with the cousin he had wed. And during his peak there in the early 1840s, he battled with such as alcohol. Poe, who was raised in a drinking society and was a drinker, got visibly drunk from one glass of wine. He also lived in poverty even at his peak. Regardless of all that, Poe has emerged as one the greatest Romantic writers.

Heavily ignored at first, then recognised and esteemed after death.

No Good Fare

"Give me a flower while I live instead of putting it on my grave." (Saying)

THERE CAN be many sorts of cognitive attacks. And folks who live on top of hills may never find fisher tales much interesting. Their cognitive apparatus is not identical. The items of the fisherman's tales do not resonate inside them, maybe because they have too few real-life experiences to identify themselves into tales like these.
Those who live on top of giving Americans silly nonsense instead of this good life lore, may be marauders pretending to be of worth by silly tricks that involve robes, décor, insignia, pompousness and the like. Base followers and admirers may also be full of such stuff.
A blind alley tends to neglect local smartness. One risk is that high-flown phrases over and over rub out fair, fit thinking that forerunners could adapt to or vice versa.
Eventually, not even Norse gods could not cope with a wolf they captured and kept in chains. Fenrir grew too big and angry by another and yet another turn of the screw, and eventually served the end of the world of the Vikings, Ragnarok. His natural desires had been chained and stiffled over a long period.
Better refrain from what hurts the natural urges deep inside. Idolatry and crooked deals are not good either. To preserve your dynamism, maybe suave respectlessness could help. It depends on you, on others, on circumstances - be careful and tidy also.

The Educated May Know Stories

"Life is for beginners, yeah, life is libido-based. We have to accommodate to that all right, or suffer many bitter set-backs or lessons" as the tough get going.

Gullible ones may at times be reached through sinister stories

"Handle no mess; handle things well instead - and perforate as little as you can. Perforate less; stay agile, cosy or fair with those around you, and never trust in taming or tamers of gullible beginners. Rather, go for sets of acidlike mentions against sinister fools. There is perhaps no horribly sinister story if it give help.

Cultivated first - followers may have failed already

GAIN no false gurus or hypocrites to bow to. Bow down to a lumpfish instead. It manages on its own. You can emulate that.
Get well cultivated set-ups along with mentalities that go along with it. Have no imported and quack enlightenment. ¤

Life is in part what you make out of it

Life is more than cunning phrases for lick-spittles. Develop a deep snore instead. ¤

Gist

Gullible ones may at times be reached through sinister stories.
Get educated and well cultivated in a free enough setting first, since many followers fell from freedom enough just by becoming followers.
Life depends on more than phrases of gurus. Get used to it.

First Flabbergasted, Next Martyrised?

Refrain from looking into books by self-flogging martyrs, to be on the safe side. Fight well against getting martyrised. Self-flogging should be forbidden. Isn't life harsh enough as it is?

Ecstatic, eccentric, not worthy of being with?

Big Bear: "The truly great person is not necessarily distinguishable from the others about you, in outward appearance. Through ecstatic satori and zazen, you need not become a strange person, not an eccentric or an esoteric person. Rather, be the person you are, if that is safe and all right. ¤

Be no self-flogging fool

Maybe a self-flogging guy has extinguished basic zest and enjoyment of life and has become irrevocably pervert, and is led by his severe inner amputations to the illusion that illusions are what he has got rid of. I think it's more or less that way with flogging monks, and some may love to rule!
Now, even if he is a pervert inside, still the holy minstrel or whining-singing monk is hardly different from an ordinary human being with clothes on. He has similar rough outlines, but the interior may be depraved, nay tortured into imbecility and pervertions. So he whine-sings along perhaps. ¤

Looking for gourds may be fit

Into the wine-cellar, looking for gourds - isn't that a sort of wisdom, eventually?

Summary

Are ecstatic and eccentric ones and others who embrace and live "yes" to life much unworthy of being with?
Be not duped into a renouncing or self-flogging fool.
So, looking for gourds and melons may be fit. God knows where you find them.

Literature

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