Kat Zen

But that can’t be all there is to occupy the group. Breathing, let’s face it, is a reflex — hardly a mental challenge. So, as a side dish, practitioners are served a koan: a riddle, a paradox, something designed to shatter logical thought. Whoever grasps the answer — or even just senses it — may be gently waved at by enlightenment.

The trick is intense. Not through debate, but through silence and inner tension, is understanding meant to arise. And no, no one reaches for Google. Silence is part of the practice. These people are wide awake, highly alert — and quite bright when it comes to finding the solution.

Let’s try a test of the Western, worldly kind. Into this meditation recipe, we’ll add a Kat. The Kat is that element of the process that converts independent, self-assured humans into devoted servants. Suddenly, everything revolves around the Kat — and the Zen in their lives.

They check the clock more often, because the creature at home expects dinner on time. Waste is removed from the sacred sandy box with meticulous care — and banished forever, out of sight, out of mind. Later — or perhaps not today at all — Zen and Kat appear and demand their time. No discussion, negotiation, or debate announces this moment. Maybe a short, sharp command from General Miaow precedes it — but that’s usually all.

If you’ve ever felt, in certain moments, that you’ve “gone to the dogs” — forget it.
Now it’s cat time.

These beings, who have placed themselves atop the highest pedestal, have everything in view. They instantly detect any change in their environment. When new things appear, they’re inspected, controlled, sniffed — and possibly swept from sight with a single flick of the paw. “You’re not welcome in here,” it clearly says in those green eyes.

But these creatures have other tricks up their sleeves. To keep their devoted companions from overthinking or questioning anything, they charm, cuddle, and gently purr them into a blissful state of distraction.

They are the declared — and enlightened — rulers of the surrounding universe of all life. Without cats, the world would be far poorer. Because purring and winding around your legs? That’s highly addictive. And knowing this — about these strange, yet endearing, sweet, almost divine beings — that is true enlightenment.

And here’s the secret:
“Kat Zen” isn’t just a pun.
It’s a truth in disguise.
In German, Katze means cat.
In Zen, silence speaks louder than words.
But in Kat Zen?
The cat is the silence.
The master.
The moment.
The meow.

"Alright, I have to end this right now.
Mrs. BE — my Siamese cat — is circling me.
See ya!"