The Fifth Way: The Consanguinity of Watermelons
No one would mistake a watermelon for a meteorite.
Star and melon, they are totally unconnected;
But earth is undeniably a heavenly body,
Watermelons and stars
Are undeniably consanguineous.
Not only are watermelons and the earth related
Like parent and child,
They also possess brotherly, sisterly feelings,
Like the moon and the sun,
The sun and us,
Us and the moon.
The Fourth Way: The Origins of Watermelons
Evidently, we live on the face of the earth;
And they, evidently, live in their watermelon interior.
We rush to and fro, thick-skinned,
Trying to stay outside, digesting light
Into darkness with which to wrap ourselves,
Cold and craving warmth.
They meditate on Zen, motionless, concentrated.
Shaping inward darkness into
Substantial, calm passions;
Forever seeking self-fulfillment and growth.
Someday, inevitably, we'll be pushed to the earth's interior,
And eventually they'll burst through the watermelon face.
The Third Way: The Philosophy of Watermelons
The history of watermelon philosophy
Is shorter than the earth's, but longer than ours;
They practice the Three Don'ts:
See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.
They are Taoistically wu-wei,
And keep themselves to themselves.
They don't envy ova,
Nor do they despise chicken's eggs.
Watermelons are neither oviparous, nor viviparous,
And comprehend the principle
Of attaining life through death.
Consequently, watermelons are not threatened by invasion,
Nor do they fear
Death.
The Second Way: The Territory of Watermelons
If we crushed a watermelon,
It would be sheer
jealousy.
Crushing a melon is equivalent to crushing a rounded night,
knocking down all the
stars,
Crumbling a perfect
universe.
And the outcome would only make us more jealous,
Would only clarify the relationship
Between meteorites and watermelon seeds,
The friendship between watermelon seeds and the universe.
They would only penetrate once again, more deeply,
into our
territory.
The First Way:
EAT IT FIRST.
-Luo Qing, translated by Zhang Cuo
