These 6 stories were pulled from 101 Zen Stories.
Each made me stop and consider my place in the universe and my views on the world. Enjoy.
1. Soldiers Of Humanity.
Once a division of the
Japanese army was engaged in a sham battle, and some of the officers
found it necessary to make their headquarters in Gasan's temple.
Gasan told his cook: "Let the officers have only the same simple fare we eat."
This made the army men
angry, as they were used to very deferential treatment. One came to
Gasan and said: "Who do you think we are? We are soldiers, sacrificing
our lives for our country. Why don't you treat us accordingly?"
Gasan answered sternly: "Who do you think we are? We are soldiers of humanity, aiming to save all sentient beings."
2. A Cup Of Tea
Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.
Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor's cup full, and then kept on pouring.
The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. "It is overfull. No more will go in!"
"Like this cup," Nan-in
said, "you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I
show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?"
3. 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 shoud not return emptyhanded. 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."
4. The Real Miracle
When Bankei was
preaching at Ryumon temple, a Shinshu priest, who believed in salvation
through the repitition of the name of the Buddha of Love, was jealous of
his large audience and wanted to debate with him.
Bankei was in the midst
of a talk when the priest appeared, but the fellow made such a
disturbance that bankei stopped his discourse and asked about the noise.
"The founder of our
sect," boasted the priest, "had such miraculous powers that he held a
brush in his hand on one bank of the river, his attendant held up a
paper on the other bank, and the teacher wrote the holy name of Amida
through the air. Can you do such a wonderful thing?"
Bankei replied lightly:
"Perhaps your fox can perform that trick, but that is not the manner of
Zen. My miracle is that when I feel hungry I eat, and when I feel
thirsty I drink."
5. 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?"
6. The Tunnel
Zenkai, the son of a
samurai, journeyed to Edo and there became the retainer of a high
official. He fell in love with the official's wife and was discovered.
In self-defense, he slew the official. Then he ran away with the wife.
Both of them later
became thieves. But the woman was so greedy that Zenkai grew disgusted.
Finally, leaving her, he journeyed far away to the province of Buzen,
where he became a wandering mendicant.
To atone for his past,
Zenkai resolved to accomplish some good deed in his lifetime. Knowing of
a dangerous road over a cliff that had caused the death and injury of
many persons, he resolved to cut a tunnel through the mountain there.
Begging food in the
daytime, Zenkai worked at night digging his tunnel. When thirty years
had gone by, the tunnel was 2,280 feet long, 20 feet high, and 30 feet
wide.
Two years before the
work was completed, the son of the official he had slain, who was a
skillful swordsman, found Zenkai out and came to kill him in revenge.
“I will give you my
life willingly," said Zenkai. “Only let me finish this work. On the day
it is completed, then you may kill me."
So the son awaited the
day. Several months passed and Zendai kept on digging. The son grew
tired of doing nothing and began to help with the digging. After he had
helped for more than a year, he came to admire Zenkai's strong will and
character.
At last the tunnel was completed and the people could use it and travel in safety.
“Now cut off my head," said Zenkai. “My work is done."
“How can I cut off my own teacher's head?" asked the younger man with tears in his eyes.
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