Zen Stories # 30 - Eating the Blame

Circumstances arose one day which delayed preparation of the dinner of a Soto Zen master, Fukai, and his followers. 

In haste the cook went to the garden with his curved knife and cut off the tops of green vegetables, chopped them together and made soup, unaware that in his haste he had included a part of a snake in the vegetables.

The followers of Fugai thought they never tasted such good soup.

But when the master himself found the snake’s head in his bowl, he summoned the cook.

“What is this?” he demanded, holding up the head of the snake.

“Oh, thank you, master,” replied the cook, taking the morsel and eating it quickly.

Reflection: Even if you have unintentionally made a mistake, you must at all times be ready to accept the outcome. 

Cheers!

Zen Stories # 29 - The Moon Cannot be Stolen

Ryokan, a Zen master, lived the simplest kind of life in a little hut at the foot of a mountain. One evening a thief visited the hut only to discover there was nothing in it to steal.

Ryokan returned and caught him. "You may have come a long way to visit me," he told the prowler, "and you should not return empty handed. Please take my clothes as a gift."

The thief was bewildered. He took the clothes and slunk away.

Ryokan sat naked, watching the moon. "Poor fellow, " he mused, "I wish I could give him this beautiful moon."

Reflection: A feeling of lack is one of the most pervasive emotions in our lives. Sometimes we don't even fully recognize it, but immediately run for what we believe will fill our lives, thinking that the next thing on our agenda will make us happy or satisfied. 

Cheers!

Zen Stories # 28 - The Present Moment

A Japanese warrior was captured by his enemies and thrown into prison. That night he was unable to sleep because he feared that the next day he would be interrogated, tortured and executed. Then, the words of his Zen master came to him. “Tomorrow is not real. It is an illusion. The only reality is now”.

Heeding these words, the warrior became peaceful and fell asleep.

Reflection:  We always want to plan for the future, but we always make ourselves miserable in the present while doing it.    

Zen Stories # 27 - Useless Life

A farmer got so old that he couldn't work the fields anymore. So he would spend the day just sitting on the porch. 

His son, still working the farm, would look up from time to time and see his father sitting there.

"He's of no use any more," the son thought to himself, "he doesn't do anything!".

One day the son got so frustrated by this, that he built a wood coffin, dragged it over to the porch, and told his father to get in. Without saying anything, the father climbed inside.

After closing the lid, the son dragged the coffin to the edge of the farm where there was a high cliff. As he approached the drop, he heard a light tapping on the lid from inside the coffin.

He opened it up. Still lying there peacefully, the father looked up at his son. "I know you are going to throw me over the cliff, but before you do, may I suggest something?" 

"What is it?" replied the son.

"Throw me over the cliff, if you like," said the father, "but save this good wood coffin. Your children might need to use it."

Reflection: What goes around, comes around. The wise man always wins in the end, even in the worst of circumstances.

Cheers!

Zen Stories # 26 - The Gift of Insults

There once lived a great warrior. Though quite old, he still was able to defeat any challenger. His reputation extended far and wide throughout the land and many students gathered to study under him.

One day an infamous young warrior arrived at the village. He was determined to be the first man to defeat the great master.

Along with his strength, he had an uncanny ability to spot and exploit any weakness in an opponent. He would wait for his opponent to make the first move, thus revealing a weakness, and then would strike with merciless force and lightning speed. No one had ever lasted with him in a match beyond the first move.

Much against the advice of his concerned students, the old master gladly accepted the young warrior's challenge.

As the two squared off for battle, the young warrior began to hurl insults at the old master. He threw dirt and spit in his face. For hours he verbally assaulted him with every curse and insult known to mankind. But the old warrior merely stood there motionless and calm. Finally, the young warrior exhausted himself.

Knowing he was defeated, he left feeling shamed.

Somewhat disappointed that he did not fight the insolent youth, the students gathered around the old master and questioned him. "How could you endure such an indignity? How did you drive him away?"

"If someone comes to give you a gift and you do not receive it," the master replied, "to whom does the gift belong?"

Reflection: There is no need to get even with people when you know you can actually get ahead of them.

 

Cheers!

Zen Stories # 25 - When Tired

  

A student once asked this teacher, “Master, What is Enlightenment?”

The master replied, “When hungry, eat. When Tired, sleep”.

Reflection: Living in the now is the most difficult task for us humans. Most live in the past or the future. Pleasures are simple things. Make the most of what you have.

Cheers!

Zen Stories # 24 - Transcient

A famous spiritual teacher came to the front door of the king’s palace. None of the guards tried to stop him as he entered and made his way to where the king himself was sitting on his throne.

“What do you want?”, asked the king, immediately recognizing the visitor.

“I would like a place to sleep in this inn”. Replied the teacher.

“But, this is not an inn,”, said the king. “It’s my palace”.

“May I  ask who owned this palace before you?”

“My father. He is dead”.

“And who owned it before him?”.

“My grand-father. He too is dead”.

“And this place is where people live for a short time, and move on – did I hear you say that it is not an inn?”

Reflection: We are all here for just a short time, and then move on. Nothing in life is permanent. Materialism and wealth makes you think will last forever. It's all defense against the realization that everything eventually passes away.

Cheers!

Zen Stoories # 23 - The Holy Man

Once upon a time, in a countryside, word spread across about the wise Holy Man who lived in a small house atop the mountain. 

A man from the village decided to make the long and difficult journey to visit him.

When he arrived at the house, he saw an old servant inside who greeted him at the door.

"I would like to see the wise Holy Man," he said to the servant.

The servant smiled and led him inside.

As they walked through the house, the man from the village looked eagerly around the house, anticipating his encounter with the Holy Man.

Before he knew it, he had been led to the back door and escorted outside.

He stopped and turned to the servant, "But I want to see the Holy Man!"

"You already have," said the old man.

"Everyone you may meet in life, even if they appear plain and insignificant... see each of them as a wise Holy Man. If you do this, then whatever problem you brought here today will be solved."

Reflection: Don’t judge people until you get to know them. They may surprise you. If you feel love and respect for all people that you meet, you will receive inward peace.

Cheers!

Zen Stories # 22 - May Be

There is a Taoist story of an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. 

"Such bad luck," they said sympathetically.

"May be," the farmer replied.

The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses.

"How wonderful," the neighbors exclaimed.

"May be," replied the old man.

The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg.

The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune.

"May be," answered the farmer.

The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son's leg was broken, they passed him by.

The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out.

"May be," said the farmer.

Reflection: Non–attachment is a way to rid your life of unnecessary unhappiness. It’s a way to become happier. Human beings get attached to ideas – ideas about who they are, what’s the best way to live, ideas about what other people should be like, and so on. and our attachment to those ideas causes most of our day to day suffering. It is our ideas about reality that causes the suffering. Not the reality itself.

Cheers!

Zen Storied # 21 - Nothing Exists

Yamaoka Tesshu, as a young student of Zen, visited one master after another. He called upon Dokuon of Shokoku. 

Desiring to show his attainment, he said: "The mind, Buddha, and sentient beings, after all, do not exist. The true nature of phenomena is emptiness. There is no realization, no delusion, no sage, no mediocrity. There is no giving and nothing to be received."

Dokuon, who was smoking quietly, said nothing. Suddenly he whacked Yamaoka with his bamboo pipe. This made the youth quite angry.

"If nothing exists," inquired Dokuon, "where did this anger come from?"

Reflection: When you take conscious control of all your decisions, you are actually activating certain neural pathways in your brain that help promote self-control, calmness and inner peace. Everytime you allow others to dictate your decisions or you don’t take full conscious responsibility for your decisions, you become slightly conditioned to be less conscious when making choices.

Cheers!

Zen Stories # 20 - A Drop of Water

A Zen master named Gisan asked a young student to bring him a pail of water to cool his bath.

The student brought the water and, after cooling the bath, threw on to the ground the little that was left over.
 

"You dunce!" the master scolded him. "Why didn't you give the rest of the water to the plants? What right have you to waste even one drop of water in this temple?"
 

The young student attained Zen in that instant. He changed his name to Tekisui, which means a drop of water.

Reflection – No matter where you are in your life journey at this moment, there are things around you that you should be enjoying and celebrating. If you were to sit down and marvel at how far you have come, appreciate the people who are currently in your life, and be amazed at how much you actually have, you would be in awe. One of the keys to enjoying your life is to take time to enjoy all the little things.

Cheers!

Zen Stories # 19 - Sounds of Silence

The pupils of the Tendai school used to study meditation before Zen entered Japan. Four of them who were intimate friends promised one another to observe seven days of silence. 

On the first day all were silent. Their meditation had begun auspiciously, but when night came and the oil lamps were growing dim one of the pupils could not help exclaiming to a servant: "Fix those lamps."

The second pupils was surprised to hear the first one talk. "We are not supposed to say a word," he remarked.

"You two are stupid. Why did you talk?" asked the third.

"I am the only one who has not talked," concluded the fourth pupil.

Reflection: Oaths and promises are lightly spoken - hardly kept. Try to keep the promises you make, otherwise you will lose your credibility.

Cheers!

Zen Stories # 18 - It will Pass

A student went to his meditation teacher and said, "My meditation is horrible! I feel so distracted, or my legs ache, or I'm constantly falling asleep. It's just horrible!"

"It will pass," the teacher said matter-of-factly.

A week later, the student came back to his teacher.

"My meditation is wonderful! I feel so aware, so peaceful, so alive! It's just wonderful!'

"It will pass," the teacher replied matter-of-factly.

Reflection: It is true that the only constant in life is change. Life has its ups and downs – good days and bad; rain and sun, illness and health, laughter and tears – Nothing bad will last forever. Nothing good will last forever either. 

Cheers!

Zen Stories # 17 - Practice makes Perfect

A dramatic ballad singer studied under a strict teacher who insisted that he rehearse day after day, month after month the same passage from the same song, without being permitted to go any further. 

Finally, overwhelmed by frustration and despair, the young man ran off to find another profession.

One night, stopping at an inn, he stumbled upon a recitation contest.

Having nothing to lose, he entered the competition and, of course, sang the one passage that he knew so well.

When he had finished, the sponsor of the contest highly praised his performance.

Despite the student's embarrassed objections, the sponsor refused to believe that he had just heard a beginner perform.

"Tell me," the sponsor said, "who is your instructor? He must be a great master."

The student later became known as the great performer Koshiji.

Reflection: The ballad singer practiced so much that it became a part of him. To really master something, it has to become part of you. Hard work will always pay off sometime in the future. Reminds me of the movie “The Karate Kid”.

Cheers!