Daily Zen..

[cedrus_libani]

A zen master was in meditation in his closter when a thief broke in.
The thief was not expecting to found the zen master in the room.

The monk told him "Ohh you must be koming from a long to way to visit me! please accept as a gift all my clothes." The thief suprized toke them and fled.

The monk said if it was possible I would have gave him the moon also!

[coralie]

Without inner peace, it is impossible to have world peace.
- the Dalai Lama

[cedrus_libani]

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.

[cedrus_libani]

Learning To Be Silent

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 pupil was surprised to hear th 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.

[cedrus_libani]

A zen master Teng Yinfeng was nearby to die, he asked to his pupils surrounding him:

"I saw a monk died while sitting, I saw another died while laying in his bed. Are they any monks which passed away while standing?"

- “Yes” responded a student monk
- “With the head upside down?” questioned the Master
- “No never anybody did that!” said the pupils.

Then Teng arized his body on his head and died.

[cedrus_libani]

Sekkyo asked to one of his monks :

-Are you able to seize the vacuum?
-Yes Master
-Show me who you do?

the monk rose his arm and simulate the catching of the vacuum.

-Is that all said Sekkyo? But you did not get anything!
-How would you do then master? asked the monk

the zen master cought then the nose of the pupill and pressed it strongly

-Heeeh said the monk but you're hurting me a lot
-It is the way to seize the vacuum replied Sekkyo

[cedrus_libani]

Right & Wrong

When Bankei held his seclusion-weeks of meditation, pupils from many parts of Japan came to attend. During one of these gatherings a pupil was caught stealing. The matter was reported to Bankei with the request that the culprit be expelled. Bankei ignored the case.

Later the pupil was caught in a similar act, and again bankei disregarded the matter. this angered the other pupils, who drew up a petition asking for the dismissal of the thief, stating that otherwise they woudl leave in a body.

When bankei had read the petition he called everyone before him. "You are wise brothers," he told them. "You know what is right and what is not right. You may somewhere else to study if ou wish, but this poor brother does not even know right from wrong. Who will teach him if I do not? I am going to keep him here even if all the rest of you leave."

A torrent of tears cleansed the face of the brother who had stolen. All desire to steal had vanished.

[Bodhisattva]

Nature's Beauty

<hr>

A priest was in charge of the garden within a famous Zen temple. He had been given the job because he loved the flowers, shrubs, and trees. Next to the temple there was another, smaller temple where there lived a very old Zen master. One day, when the priest was expecting some special guests, he took extra care in tending to the garden. He pulled the weeds, trimmed the shrubs, combed the moss, and spent a long time meticulously raking up and carefully arranging all the dry autumn leaves. As he worked, the old master watched him with interest from across the wall that separated the temples.

When he had finished, the priest stood back to admire his work. "Isn't it beautiful," he called out to the old master. "Yes," replied the old man, "but there is something missing. Help me over this wall and I'll put it right for you."

After hesitating, the priest lifted the old fellow over and set him down. Slowly, the master walked to the tree near the center of the garden, grabbed it by the trunk, and shook it. Leaves showered down all over the garden. "There," said the old man, "you can put me back now."

[Bodhisattva]

Going with the Flow

A Taoist story tells of an old man who accidentally fell into the river rapids leading to a high and dangerous waterfall. Onlookers feared for his life. Miraculously, he came out alive and unharmed downstream at the bottom of the falls. People asked him how he managed to survive. "I accommodated myself to the water, not the water to me. Without thinking, I allowed myself to be shaped by it. Plunging into the swirl, I came out with the swirl. This is how I survived."

(<cite>Some versions describe Confucius as witnessing this event. Also, in some versions, the old man explains how he has been jumping into the waterfall like this since he was a small boy.</cite> )

People's reactions to this story:

"You have to accommodate yourself to life and get used to dealing with your problems as they come. You must learn to cooperate."

"We must adapt to nature. Nature cannot change for us. If you try to fight the natural forces, they will overcome you. Because we are made primarily of water, it is easy to become a part of it."

"Because nature is so much more powerful than we are, we must become one with it in order to survive."

"Humans are not the almighty conquerors that they think they are. We can learn a lot from nature. Nature is wonderful and does not intend to harm. It is humans that are harmful."

"Sometimes we go through life wanting the world and other people to accommodate to us. When they don't, we get rigid and defensive, thereby getting us in trouble and making the situation a lot worse for ourselves."

"Have faith and serenity that everything will work out. When you try to control events, they backfire."

"Work with what life gives you and you will survive."

"Put your life into God's hands and you will be OK."

"Although you may not be able to control your destiny, you always have the ability to think and reason about your situation. This will help you come out on top."

"Too often people are strict in their ways of living. Stubborn people either are left behind or die out."

"You should take control of a situation before it takes control of you."

"Where there's a will there's a way."

"Sometimes even when you do the best you can to adapt to others and/or situations it doesn't help you. In fact, it could make things worse because you could lose your identity. Conformity is not always a good thing. Having an identity as an individual sometimes means going against the grain."

"Don't give in to fear during a dangerous situation. It is fear that destroys you."

"The water is like religion - we have to accommodate to it."

"It's interesting to see how the old man draws a parallel between the physical and spiritual world. You must be one with a crisis. If we accept obstacles or tragedies as universal events and don't attempt to conquer or repress them, then it will not be seen as an obstacle or a disaster, but simply as an experience."

"Miracles do happen. The old man must have been very strong-willed."

"I can imagine the old man's physical sensations when he was in the water - frightened and peaceful at the same time. I remember being two years old and overcome by large waves when swimming at the beach. Perhaps if I had accommodated myself to the water, I would not have been as frightened."

"The man knew he was going to survive and never gave into fear. Maybe that's the lesson - always maintain a positive attitude about life."

"Never lose your temper, remain calm, and take things in stride as they come. If you have faith, things will work out."

"This must have been a very dangerous situation, but then water symbolizes rebirth and cleansing, doesn't it?"

"Oh yeah, right! He was just lucky!"

"I don't know he could have done it 'without thinking.'"

"Sounds like the old man should be a character on a soap opera."

"This story doesn't apply to reality. Wake up!"

"Why didn't anyone who was watching help him out of the water?"

"This old man seems rather arrogant and narcissistic about himself."

"The story reminds me of people who tried to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel. They got arrested for that."

[Bodhisattva]

Working Very Hard

<hr>
<b> 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."

<cite>(in other versions of this story, the student says he is eager to attain "enlightenment")</cite>

</b>

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!"

may we all be happy