Halfway around Lake Lagunita
near the bench under a live oak
a gust of wind and flapping of wings—

a flock of Canadian geese flying
in V-formation makes their landing
calmly on the dried lake bed.

Scientists wondered why the geese
fly that way and have found it's
for aerodynamic reasons—

Geese conserve energy when flying
in a V than when flying alone,
reducing wind resistance

so they can glide longer and
increase their range by 70%—
Nature's way to boosts efficiency.

Corporations have adopted
this formula of teamwork
to prosper more in business.

But today seeing these geese making
that tranquil landing on the lake,
I recall the ancient Zen koan—

"If all things return to the One,
where does the One return?" Mang Gong
said "The spring geese are flying north."

Suddenly an eureka moment
that the geese were not flying
in V but the Λ-formation—

Aha!— the Platonic Lambda,
Soul of the Universe— the geese
have purpose, a sense of direction

making that arrowhead landing—
aiming always for the Soul's
flying— soaring to the One.


          Peter Y. Chou
          Mountain View, 9-27-2010

Flight of Geese to Lake Lagunita
Stanford University, August 20, 2010