"Are you about to assume the lotus position?" asked Pat.

"I'm about to assume a spherical cow," retorted the Zen master.

"That's a physicist's term," Pat noted.

"I studied physics when I was younger," continued the master. "Physics will teach you how to send a rocket to the moon. It can't teach you how to properly experience the process of building the rocket. Nor how to cope if a cosmic ray fries the electronics and ruins the mission."

"Are you about to assume the lotus position?" asked Pat.

"I'm about to assume a spherical cow," retorted the Zen master. "Really, I'll simplify further than the physicists. A physicist might sit thinking. I will just sit."

The master sat.

"Are you about to assume the lotus position?" asked Pat.

"I'm about to assume a spherical cow," retorted the Zen master.

"What's the spherical cow doing?"

"The cow is doing zazen," explained the master. "It may be rolling down a hill."

"Are you about to assume the lotus position?" asked Pat.

"I'm about to assume a spherical cow," retorted the Zen master.

The phrase was new to Pat. "Surely you jest. Cows are far from spherical."

"How should I know that?" the master mused. "There are no cows around monasteries."

"Are you about to assume the lotus position?" asked Pat.

"I'm about to assume a spherical cow," retorted the Zen master.

"Has the spherical cow Buddha-nature, or not?"

"Mu!"