Zen stories

YOU ARE WHAT YOU SPEAK

Once an old saint was sitting under a tree meditating. At that time one man came and asked harshly “Hey, old man. Have you seen anybody passing through this way? ”
The old man replied. “No. I did not see anybody”.
After sometime, another person can came and asked seriously. “Hey, old man. Have you seen anybody passing through this way? ”
The old man said. “Yes sir. One man came and asked the same question earlier.”

Before long another person came and asked politely. “Hey, noble soul.. Have you seen anybody passing through this way? ” The old man replied with respect “Yes your majesty. Two persons came earlier and asked the same question. The first one was your soldier and the second, your minister, your majesty.”..

The King was very happy and was about to leave. Then he noticed that the old saint was blind. The astonished King asked the saint “In spite of being blind, how could you know that they were soldier and the minister?”

“The way they asked.” replied the saint. The first one was very rude. The typical style of a soldier. But the second one was more serious and rational. Then it must be the minister.
Then, You the Majesty were very cordial, humble and respectful. Nobody other than the king can be like that.”
The King was happy to note the saint’s wisdom and returned happily remembering these words.
YOU ARE WHAT YOU SPEAK.

…………..


EMPTY YOUR CUP

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A university professor went to visit a famous Zen master. While the master quietly served tea, the professor talked about Zen. The master poured the visitor's cup to the brim, and then kept pouring. The professor watched the overflowing cup until he could no longer restrain himself. "It's overfull! No more will go in!" the professor blurted. "You are like this cup," the master replied, "How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup."

People's reactions to this story:
"You cannot learn anything if you already feel that you know."

"Preconceived ideas and prejudices always prevent us from seeing the truth."

"You should open your mind before you open your mouth."

"The master is trying to tell him to ease back and relax. The professor is too anxious about the whole thing."

"Some people want to be taught everything in one sitting. It's not possible."

"This story proves to me that you have to unlearn before you can learn."

"We shouldn't get too wrapped up in one aspect of life. If we do, we close ourselves off to new experiences."

"Even though you may be full of knowledge, you should always be open to the fact that there is still more to learn."

"I bet the master did that just to shut the professor up!"

"If you want to learn, you have to shut up and LISTEN for a change."

"We should be open to the views of others, and accept them as their own. Treat each opinion individually, and don't just add it to your own."

"Sometimes another person has to catch you with your guard down in order to teach you something."

"The professor's understanding of Zen is too intellectualized. The master is trying to point him towards a more intuitive understanding . If you're too intellectualized about ANY subject, often you miss the boat."

"I would tell this story to anyone who believed something about me that was untrue."

"I think the master was trying to show him that when you can no longer take it is time to give - and you must sometimes give in order to receive."

"This professor probably doesn't really believe in Zen. His prejudices are preventing him from seeing clearly. This is what the master is trying to show him."

"Too much of anything is just too much!"

"I don't think the professor's reaction indicated that he had a closed mind. It was perfectly normal. Wouldn't you do the same if someone was spilling tea all over the place?" “You are like this cup of tea. Unless you empty yourself I can’t teach you ZEN” Working Very Hard
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A martial arts student went to his teacher and said earnestly, "I am devoted to studying your martial system. How long will it take me to master it." The teacher's reply was casual, "Ten years." Impatiently, the student answered, "But I want to master it faster than that. I will work very hard. I will practice everyday, ten or more hours a day if I have to. How long will it take then?" The teacher thought for a moment, "20 years."
(in other versions of this story, the student says he is eager to attain "enlightenment")

People's reactions to this story:
"The student is too eager. The master is trying to tell him that he needs to learn patience first."

"Sometimes, if you try too hard, you just get in your own way. It makes you anxious, which just blocks understanding. Some things have to develop naturally, by themselves."

"This story makes me think about life. If you want to do something, then just let it happen. Don't push it. the harder you try, the longer it will take."

"You can't rush true leaning. You have to take it one step at a time."

"Reminds me of dieting. If you loose weight slow or by a natural method, it works much better than trying to do it quickly and compulsively."

"Live for the moment. Don't rush things and worry so much about later. Let it flow. I would tell this story to those Type-A personalities who are always pushing in life."

"Usually we are taught that the more effort we put into a task, the greater the reward. Then why is someone like this student, who is showing so much zeal, rebuffed by the master like this?"

"Maybe this means that the harder you work at something, the more there is to learn. The more you want to learn, the more there is to learn."

"You have to LIVE what you are studying."

"The master is trying to tell the student to slow down, experience life, be self-aware. Maybe he is even trying to tell him to not be so preoccupied with the martial arts."

"Get a life, already!"

"Mastery doesn't come just from practice alone."

"The student wanted to study the martial arts for the wrong reasons. He is immature in what he wants and expects. It probably would take him 20 years before he realized this."

"You can't ever master the martial arts."

"I've been in therapy for many years and now I wonder just how long it will take for me to master my problems. I guess it will take time."

"This story reminds me of Aristotle who said that we should search for the mean between the extremes of excess and deficiency."

"The student can't hear the answer the master is giving him because he is asking the wrong question. He anticipates eagerly what will only come naturally."

"Don't just talk it, DO IT!"

"Haste makes waste!"

"I recently had this conversation with a workmate about the distinction between people who sail, and people who drive power boats (!)."

"I know this story doesn't come from our western culture, but it reminds me of us. People always want to get things over with as quick as possible. They want to accomplish everything yesterday!".
The Present Moment
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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.

People's reactions to this story:
"We have to take each day one at a time. Each moment in this life only comes once, so take advantage of it and live it fully."

"Don't worry about tomorrow until it comes. Take things lightly."

"Don't let yourself be troubled by tomorrow. It will take care of itself."

"We all have images and concepts of what tomorrow will bring - good or bad. But we never know for sure what will happen."

"It's a nice story, but I'd still be real worried about the next day!"

"Isn't this a bit of a paradox. The only reality is 'now' - but 'now' quickly becomes the past. So there is no reality at all! Maybe that's why the soldier shouldn't worry about it."

"That soldier better hope the Zen master is on his way to rescue him. Those words are pretty easy for the master, who's probably sleeping comfortably in his bed at home."

"Almost anyone would be anxious in this situation. I don't think the master's advice would work for most people."

"True wisdom is not easily applied."

"This reminds me of something my mother told me last week. 'Stop dreaming and live.'"

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

"People tend to worry way too much about things that they can't control. If we can just let it go, we'd be at peace with ourselves."

"The only reality is now, but what WILL happen when the soldier wakes up. That will quickly become reality too."

"I think the warrior should be thinking of ways to escape, rather than sleeping. I hope the Zen master told him that torture is an illusion too."

"I guess we should live each day as if it is our last."

"A good tale, but it's not complex enough. It's too easily dismissed as being silly."
Sounds of Silence________________________________________

Four monks decided to meditate silently without speaking for two weeks. By nightfall on the first day, the candle began to flicker and then went out. The first monk said, "Oh, no! The candle is out." The second monk said, "Aren't we not suppose to talk?" The third monk said, "Why must you two break the silence?" The fourth monk laughed and said, "Ha! I'm the only one who didn't speak."


People's reactions to this story:
"Each monk broke the silence for a different reason, each of which is a common stumbling block to meditation. The first monk became distraced by one element of the world (the candle) and so lost sight of the rest. The second monk was more worried about rules than the meditation itself. The third monk let his anger at the first two rule him. And the final monk was lost in his ego."

The path is open to its failures as they are the stones to its success.

"I am reminded of a car game I used to play with my children called 'Listening for Silence.' The object of the game for me was to stop the noise in the car. The object of the game for the children was to see who could resist speaking the longest by listening for silence. If the first child spoke and the second child automatically burst out proclaiming victory, then both children lost. The object was to listen for silence and silence speaks for itself"

Things do not always go as planned.

This is symbolic of something else, I know, but I'll just say it the way it was told. If you're used to talking, it's going to be hard to resist the temptation to talk, moreso when you're with others, which I would think they would've thought of. It's like telling someone who sees just fine to close their eyes for a week, staying awake, and not open them at all, no matter what noises they heard. It's pretty near impossible to resist temptation when you've never had to resist that type of temptation before.

You could have ended the story at the point when "the candle flickered and went out."

The four monks have each broken their silence for an altogether different reason. But another side is in the fact that the 4th monk spoke at all. Had he simply maintained his silence, he would've been successful in his endeavor. But if he had, in all likelihood, the other three would've probably continued to argue and not even noticed his silence. I know many people who are like the 4th monk; their motto: If I'm doing something good and no one is watching (or no one notices), I might as well not be doing it at all. They believe that the reward is not in the effort, but in the recognition.

Were I a fifth monk I would wait 10 minutes into the exercise, stand up and yell loudly. HAAAAAAH I LOSE!!!! Then walk out to do some non-competitive meditation.

Enter a woods and hear the wilderness listen. That's where you'll find it.... John, your "Ph.D." is not silent.

This story reminds me a teaching. When you meditate in breathing, you should concentrate your mind to your breath only and cast out all thoughts, including a thought that you are breathing.

"If you can describe the zen then you do not know it. 'The buffalo left his enclosure for the abyss, his head passed the doorway, his shoulders, girth and haunches, yet his tail would not pass through' - - koan from the gateless gate"

"Oaths and Promises - Lightly spoken..Hardly Kept."

It is the provence of knowledge to speak; it is the privilege of wisdom - to listen.

It is clear from reading the story that none of the monks are spiritually ready to perform the difficult silent meditation. Unfocused and easily distracted by their surroundings(the burnt out candle and the conversations of themselves) they all failed to reach their aim of meditating in silent for two weeks. I see the moral of the story is 'to plan thoroughly and be solidly ready before embarking on an action. Focus your mind constantly in reaching your aim, and the objective will be reached, no matter how hard it is.'
Practice Makes Perfect
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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.

People's reactions to this story:
"Hard work will always pay off sometime in the future. I can see myself telling this story to someone who wants to quit something before they've really gotten into it."

"You can always take your abilities one step further, one inch closer to perfection.We should never be satisfied with a good or even a great performance. Let's be patient and strive for ultimate perfection, no matter what the cost."

"I can relate to this. I play golf. If you can develop an incredibly good short game, your performance on all 18 holes will improve greatly. It's also important to have one really impressive skill because it gives you the confidence to tackle other skills."

"He practiced so much that it became part of him. To really master something, it has to become part of you."

"People sometimes spread themselves too thin by trying to do too many things at once. You have to master one thing at a time. That builds a solid foundation that you can then build on."

"This reminds me of studying philosophy. You have to intensely study one small portion, master it, and then gradually build up your knowledge in new areas."

"Practice doesn't make perfect - perfect practice makes perfect."

"My dad brought me up with a quote - 'Only those who attempt the absurd achieve the impossible.'"

"You can't practice all the time. If you do, you'll eventually burn out!"

"Just practicing isn't always enough. You have to be involved in what you are doing. You have to learn from the heart."

"I don't think this teacher could have been very good. If he was, the student would not have become so frustrated that he quit."

"People who are more knowledgeable than us in a particular area have reasons for behaving the way they do - even if the reasons are not apparent to us."

"This story reminds me of when I was in gymnastics. My coach kept pushing me to the limit. Well, I broke my arm and that was the end of my gymnastics career."

"Parents are sometimes like this - they push and push a kid until the kid finally rebels."

"This story reminds me of the movie The Karate Kid. His instructor made him practice all sorts of weird things, which he thought was useless - but the instructor turned out to be right."

"I felt this way about my parents. They raised me well, but at the time I thought I knew it all and didn't want to listen to what they had to teach me. Eventually, I realized they were right."

"I like this story because it emphasizes the kind of self-discipline that is missing in American culture. Our preoccupation with "freedom" makes it difficult for us to be disciplined and focused on difficult tasks."

"What?"

"I'm a bit paranoid about practice. Sometimes the more I practice the more careless I get. Then bad habits start to creep in."

"It wasn't practicing that did it for him. He just got lucky. I don't think he deserves any prizes because he's a quitter."

"I don't agree with this story. It's not realistic. In today's world you need more than just one skill in order to get ahead."

"So what's the message here? Even though you may feel that something or someone is wasting your time, the eldest are still the most wise?"

"I have to disagree with the consensus. Singing or music in general is anything but a skill, maybe talent, art, passion, relaxation, or a gift. If you take that away you have nothing. Practicing one passage over and over is nothing more than an elephant that stand next to a tree because he thinks he's chained to it. Not Music!"
Is That So?
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A beautiful girl in the village was pregnant. Her angry parents demanded to know who was the father. At first resistant to confess, the anxious and embarrassed girl finally pointed to Hakuin, the Zen master whom everyone previously revered for living such a pure life. When the outraged parents confronted Hakuin with their daughter's accusation, he simply replied "Is that so?"
When the child was born, the parents brought it to the Hakuin, who now was viewed as a pariah by the whole village. They demanded that he take care of the child since it was his responsibility. "Is that so?" Hakuin said calmly as he accepted the child.
For many months he took very good care of the child until the daughter could no longer withstand the lie she had told. She confessed that the real father was a young man in the village whom she had tried to protect. The parents immediately went to Hakuin to see if he would return the baby. With profuse apologies they explained what had happened. "Is that so?" Hakuin said as he handed them the child.

People's reactions to this story:
"We are free to tell the mountain that it is too high, the road that it winds too much and the ocean that it is too wet."

"The master taught the village that perception is a relative phenomenon and that reality simply is what it is despite how people label it."

"Public criticism is a means for those who do not know themselves well. But for well self-understanding people, it means nothing."

My tickling is piqued by the choosing of ZenMasterNames, yes. I bet "Iza tsohaw qu-een" is some kind of mystic chant that the author wanted readers to mutter over and over again as they read this koan.

"We all have responsibilities. sometimes other create them for us. We then have a choice to accept these responsibilities or fight them. The Zen master sees the greater good in accepting responsibilities that he did not ask for or plan on."

That girl is a lying slut.

Hakuin must have been aware of his perceived status in the community. He accepted his charge by a member of the community unencumbered. With compassion he completed the mission.

No matter. That child was as we all once were. The only difference is in being. Hakuin excepted anothers lie for truth as proof of his virtue of ethics and morality.

"To be in harmony with the world."

The monks calmness is admirable, but the idea that one should not speak the truth when confronted with a lie is potentially very harmful. Perhaps the monk did not recognize his reputation among the people or the impact it would have on them, because if the daughter never admited to lying about who the childs true father was, she may have created a spirit of cynicism among the people. That even the most 'spiritual' types of people are not really so, but are simply putting on an act is what alot of people would have taken from this situation if the truth never arose. People shouldn't be dependent on the oppinions of others for their happiness, but they should also recognize the impact that their life will make on others and therefore not permit calumny to prevail.

is that so?

So what? So what if he was or wasn't the father. Details can not overshadow what is right or wrong. Everyone allowed themselves to be bothered by truly trivial details, and allowed these trivial details to act as ethical guiedelines for action.

questions lead to the truth. Have you ever heard the following in a conversation "Well why didn't you tell me?! 'Because you didn't ask.' "? It is the same here. Nobody asked Hakuin if he was the father, nobody asked if he would care for the child, and nobody asked for it back. We must learn to ask the right questions of the world around us, and to request, not demand all the time.

People will act on their own convictions if there is no response.

Just because everyone "knows" something to be true does not mean that it is.

People saying something does not make it true...Knowing yourself is the most importent thing.

No matter what your reputation is, no matter how much your virtue is praised, because it depends on the opinions of others, it does not reflect the Real You.

I like Richard Bach's Messiah's Handbook from "Illusions": Live, never to be ashamed, if what you do or say is published around the world. Even is what is published is not true.

Even a large stone cannot stop the river. Its resistance marks its demise.

Perhaps it is too obvious that "Is that so?" is both a passive challenge to the accusers and an invitation to look more deeply into the matter -- both of which were repeatedly declined. The Hakuin wisely declines to force the issue, accepting minor injustice while avoiding greater disharmony.

The master has achieved complete acceptance of every person, situation and emotion. He has no fear of being unjustly labeled. He receives the child and gives up the child with the same peace of mind. He is both a detached observer and a complete participant.

The Zen master taught that there is no difference between truth and lie, because all happenings in life will be experienced through the filter of our sense-organs. That is why he reacted equally to both, the accusation and the apology. Another example that children born out of wedlock are foistered onto others who must then pay for the bundle of joy. No mention is stated of the devestating effects of terminating a baby's initial bonding with a caretaker. I'll bet the monk never recieved a Father's Day card.

When I read this story for the first time I thought that the only words that Hakuin knew were "is that so?". I then thought that couldn't be right so I read it again. Now I just don't know what to think.

So what?

In asking the question "is that so?" perhaps the Zen master was trying to tip the people about truth. It is not subjective. It IS. He may not have believed their apology at the end as true as he did not believe their accusations as true. Their judgement of him was not relevant (to him.) The truth IS the truth and is what matters.

"You can't tell the whole story by reading the front page"

Truth is what you make it. In a Society Truth is what most of the people think it is -- or is it ?

"Truth? What is it?"
TradingFor Lodging
Provided he makes and wins an argument about Buddhism with those who live there, any wandering monk can remain in a Zen temple. If he is defeated, he has to move on.
In a temple in the northern part of Japan two brother monks were dwelling together. The elder one was learned, but the younger one was stupid and had but one eye.
A wandering monk came and asked for lodging, properly challenging them to a debate about the sublime teaching. The elder brother, tired that day from much studying, told the younger one to take his place. "Go and request the dialogue in silence," he cautioned.
So the young monk and the stranger went to the shrine and sat down.
Shortly afterwards the traveler rose and went in to the elder brother and said: "Your young brother is a wonderful fellow. He defeated me."
"Relate the dialogue to me," said the elder one.
"Well," explained the traveler, "first I held up one finger, representing Buddha, the enlightened one. So he held up two fingers, signifying Buddha and his teaching. I held up three fingers, representing Buddha, his teaching, and his followers, living the harmonious life. Then he shook his clenched fist in my face, indicating that all three come from one realization. Thus he won and so I have no right to remain here." With this, the traveler left.
"Where is that fellow?" asked the younger one, running in to his elder brother.
"I understand you won the debate."
"Won nothing. I'm going to beat him up."
"Tell me the subject of the debate," asked the elder one.
"Why, the minute he saw me he held up one finger, insulting me by insinuating that I have only one eye. Since he was a stranger I thought I would be polite to him, so I held up two fingers, congratulating him that he has two eyes. Then the impolite wretch held up three fingers, suggesting that between us we only have three eyes. So I got mad and started to punch him, but he ran out and that ended it!"