The Story
According to Greek mythology, King Minos of the island of Crete commissioned a man named Daedulus to design a labyrinth in which to contain the Minotaur, the half-man, half-bull offspring of his queen, Pasiphae. But when Daedulus helped the hero Theseus slay the Minotaur, Minos was so enraged that he shut Daedulus and his son, Icarus, inside. Because Daedulus had designed the maze, he knew his way out, but as Minos controlled the sea all around the island, the only way out was by air. So he and Icarus planned their escape by making wings for themselves out of feathers from birds and wax.
As they prepared to fly away to freedom, Daedulus cautioned Icarus not to fly too close to the sun, or the wax holding the feathers together would melt. But Icarus, the original thrill seeker, was too enthralled with flying, and soared too high. His wings melted, he crashed and burned, drowning in what became known as the Icarian Sea.
The moral? Listen to the wise, find your way out of the maze, soar to new heights, live on the edge, and don’t be afraid to take a few chances. We did, and look where it got us…39 years and counting of peace and love on Main Street, downtown Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA… and what a long, strange trip it has been.
sa-to-ri
noun Zen
1. sudden enlightment. 2. the flash of insight, the sudden instantaneous awakening, the exact moment of enlightment. 3. an awareness of the undifferentiated unity of all existence, where there is no sense of distinction between the knower and that which is known. 4. a nondualisitc perception of ultimate reality. 5. illumination, the realization of man in his psychic totality. 6. the absolute present, the eternal now, where no past is left behind, no future waits ahead. 7. the beginning, not the end of true Zen training. 8. an experience like an everyday ordinary experience, except about two inches off the ground. (Prof. D.T. Suzuki) (<Jap satoru = to know) 9. a retail establishment surviving against all odds in downtown Oshkosh, Wisconsin since 1969, dedicated to providing an everyday shopping experience that is unmistakable, enlightning and beyond description.
