Some enlightening Zen Stories

I had two thoughts:  one was that it was an example of spiritual self-righteousness and competitiveness, and the other was that maybe it was simple mindlessness, not thinking about what they were doing and getting lost in distractions.  When I was on my silent retreat, the first day I kept finding myself saying things out of habit, (such as "bless you" after someone's sneeze, and "excuse me" after bumping into someone).  It took a little while to find my focus and stay mindful.
 
Lori 

To truly listen is to perfect one's own virtue.

Isn't it just so easy to slip back into old ways of the conditioned mind.  Thanks for sharing that Lori.

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 is my palace."

"May I ask who owned this palace before you?"

"My father. He is dead."

"And who owned it before him?"

"My grandfather. He too is dead."

"And this place where people live for a short time and then move on - did I hear you say that it is NOT an inn?"


              
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A wonderful story! What the spiritual teacher -- and the story -- seem to be pointing to is our tendency to grasp onto things and call them "ours". Our seat in a movie is only "ours" for a time, a job is only "ours" for a time, our house is only "ours" for a time. I had a marriage that was "mine" for a a long time, until it was over, and then it wasn't "mine" any more. Where did it go? Now I have a new marriage that is "mine" and I treat it much differently. And I have a body that is "mine" for a time. And then?

It seems like everything in life is like the inn that we inhabit for awhile and then -- one way or another -- we leave. Each room -- high school, college, marriage, job, friends -- is impermanent.

When I went to Catholic school I learned the phrase "vanitas, vanitorum vanitas" -- "vanity of vanity, all is vanity". It's our vanity, our ego, that sees things as permanent.

I remember reading once that we just rent this body. I'll try to remember this story today and reflect that that my life is like the inn of many rooms.

Her is a poem by Rumi that seems to fit in with the story:

Rumi - Guest House

This being human is a guest house
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

Theresa;  Thank you for sharing your very insightful perspective; And for Rumi's poem.
 
How true, how true, rj

Theresa, welcome to the forum. Having also grown up in Catholic School, your post reminded me of the phrase used at the installation of a new pope when the bundle of flax is lighted, is consumed by the flames and then and then rapidly burns out. "Sic transit gloria mundi" is repeated three times as the fire quickly burns out --"Thus passes the glory of the world." It also brings to mind another commentary-- "The cemetaries are filled with irreplaceable people." We look forward to your future posts and are pleased that you have joined us.

Yesterday is gone forever.Tomorrow may not come. Live Fully each moment today. Look for Good Things that Happen to you Every Day.

Welcome and thanks from me, too, Theresa! You have interpreted the content of the story exhaustively - there is nothing to add for me. Special thanks for the Rumi poem! Thanks also to you, of course, Richard!
And to you, Betty!

Juliana
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Speak Peace in a World of Conflict

PS: It has just occurred to me that there would be a far better chance for peace if we all remembered that "This being human is a guest house",  "all is vanity", and "Thus passes the glory of the world"...

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."


                     

 
 
                            People's reactions to this story:

"We must be the change we want to see in this world."

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Thank you Richard, I'menuff, and Betty for welcoming me to the forum! I've looked through some of the stories already posted and really enjoy reading the insightful comments.

I think the old farmer is teaching his son a powerful lesson about karma, the law of cause and effect. The son is free to declare his father useless and throw him off a cliff, but if he does, his action will create a chain of events that will result in him being declared useless one day by his own children. The wooden coffin he builds seems like a powerful symbol of the bad karma he is himself creating. The farmer wisely tells his son to keep the coffin, for he will need it sooner or later. The son is teaching his own children a lesson on how to treat him when he gets old.

The tale also brought the "golden rule" to mind: do unto others as we would have them do unto us. We reap what we sow.

Do you know the poem, Whom the Bell Tolls by John Donne? I thought of these lines:

No man is an island
entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
a part of the main.
…
Each man's death diminishes me,
for I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
for whom the bell tolls,
it tolls for thee.

Theresa

Theresa:
 
One of my favourites, thanks for sharing that and drawing the parallel, rj

Once there was a well known philosopher and scholar who devoted himself to the study of Zen for many years. On the day that he finally attained enlightenment, he took all of his books out into the yard, and burned them all.

            

 

             People's reactions to this story:

"We must be the change we want to see in this world."

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Richard,
I can very well understand that scholar. He felt he had reached a point at which he did not need books any more. As for me, I have far too many books and will have to throw (better: give) some away. The only trouble is that with most of them I remember certain sentences or passages, and when I want to go back to them to share the wisdom collected there with others, I do need them.
As for enlightenment, I doubt whether any one can or should ever say "I am enlightened". It seems to me that state comes step by step, if ever, and it is not necessary to think about it at all.

Juliana
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Speak Peace in a World of Conflict

Richard, this story reminds me of Thomas Aquinas who wrote the Summa Theologica. It is said that one day he had a mystical experience, and after this never wrote another word.
 
Isn't it amazing how many words are written about that for which there are no words?!
 
Edda

Peace and joy!

Richard,
To me the tale suggests that the only way to fully learn life's truths is when you take them into your heart. It doesn't matter where or how you learned something, or where you read it. All books can do is point the way to knowledge or wisdom. As long as you rely on the book, you are relying on someone else's words, someone else's thoughts. Your book might be different from my book, but we can get to the same truth.

It makes me think of a quote from the Chinese philosopher, Chuang Tzu: "Words exist because of meaning. Once you've gotten the meaning, you can forget the words. Where can I find a man who has forgotten words so I can talk with him?"

I know I am always happy when I can give a book away to a friend and know that I will keep its message with me. Then I know I've really gotten the message.
Namaste, Theresa

Richard,
I agree with what everyone else has said here, but like Juliana I don't give away my books lightly. I too will wish to go straight to 'that book' to look up something for someone else, and besides all that........I just love my books. Also 'book-burning' has too many unpleasant attachments to it. I don't think I could ever do that.
 
Jude

Love is the only way

Jude,
Thank you for raising that important point about book burning. So true! Looked at from the perspective of 20th century events, it was the very opposite of enlightenment. Instead it was an act of enslavement, the death of ideas.
Theresa

The great Taoist master Chuang Tzu once dreamt that he was a butterfly fluttering here and there. In the dream he had no awareness of his individuality as a person. He was only a butterfly. Suddenly, he awoke and found himself laying there, a person once again. But then he thought to himself, "Was I before a man who dreamt about being a butterfly, or am I now a butterfly who dreams about being a man?"


           


               People's reactions to this story:

"We must be the change we want to see in this world."

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-Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, M.D.

 

"How does one become a butterfly?" she asked

pensively. "You must want to fly so much that you are willing to give up being a caterpillar."

 

-Trina Paulus

 

Love is the only way

One day while walking through the wilderness a man stumbled upon a vicious tiger. He ran but soon came to the edge of a high cliff. Desperate to save himself, he climbed down a vine and dangled over the fatal precipice. As he hung there, two mice appeared from a hole in the cliff and began gnawing on the vine. Suddenly, he noticed on the vine a plump wild strawberry. He plucked it and popped it in his mouth. It was incredibly delicious!



 

People's reactions to this story:

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This man is able to totally be in the moment accepting and enjoying that delicious strawberry despite the precarious situation he finds himself in.
In times of trouble we can become to preoccupied with our cares that we don't even see the "strawberries", much less find relief in enjoying the gift.
 
Edda

Peace and joy!

"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."


 
 



 
 
People's reactions to this story:

"We must be the change we want to see in this world."

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Thank you, Richard.

That´s a beautiful story. Of course what it says cannot easily be put into practice, but at least we can aspire to allow ourselves to be shaped by what we cannot change. It reminds me of a saying of one of the Church Fathers: "What has been accepted, is redeemed". And: "I cannot change the direction of the wind. But I can adjust my sails".

Juliana
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Speak Peace in a World of Conflict  

To me, this is all about accepting what is, and not trying to change it into what it isn't.
 
Lori

To truly listen is to perfect one's own virtue.

May we all revert to "floating" during those times when everything inside of us wants to swim furiously.

Yesterday is gone forever.Tomorrow may not come. Live Fully each moment today. Look for Good Things that Happen to you Every Day.

"Whenever anyone asked him about Zen, the great master Gutei would quietly raise one finger into the air. A boy in the village began to imitate this behavior. Whenever he heard people talking about Gutei's teachings, he would interrupt the discussion and raise his finger. Gutei heard about the boy's mischief. When he saw him in the street, he seized him and cut off his finger. The boy cried and began to run off, but Gutei called out to him. When the boy turned to look, Gutei raised his finger into the air. At that moment the boy became enlightened."




People's reactions to this story:

"We must be the change we want to see in this world."

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I've been trying SOOOO hard not to respond with the only question that comes to mind, but I can't stand it any longer:  Which finger did he raise into the air?   LOL!!  (Sorry.  I have a naughty little girl inside of me that makes herself known sometimes!)
 
Lori

To truly listen is to perfect one's own virtue.

Lori, you are not the only one pondering this question!!! I've been trying to make sense out of this story. The only thing that came to mind was that the finger, which ever one, was pointing up and beyond that little self! It is too hot today to think in a more enlightened way. 
 
Richard, you can now have a good laugh at us! 
How did you interpret this story? 
 
Edda

Peace and joy!

If you click on the "People's Reactions to this story" link you will see several interesting interpretations.
Rather than getting into the debate as to which finger was at risk, I go with the person that said,
"When you can no longer point at truth, maybe that's when you see it most clearly."
 
Actually though, how long do you suppose "the finger" gesture has been universally recognized ?? :)
                                                                                                    ( This perhaps calls for some serious research )


 

Word spread across the countryside 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."

 

     
 
      People's reactions to this story:

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Reminds me of:
 
"Everyone who comes into our lives is our soulmate."
 
Jude

Love is the only way

The man from the village did not realize that the servant was the Holy Man. The one he encountered did not meet his expectations. The lesson he received was then that there is a Holy Man in everyone he meets.
 
This reminds me of Dr. Charles Hufnagel, a promintent cardiac surgeon who worked and taugth at Georgetown University. Patients were sent to him from all around the country. Once we made rounds with him and one patient, who had never met him before, asked, "When am I going to meet the great Dr. Hufnagel?"  He just smiled and said, "You'll meet him one of these days."  This surgeon was as humble as he was great. (We did tell the patient on the way out, "That was him!")
 
Edda

Peace and joy!

Richard,
Thank you for this Zen story. I like it. What strikes me is the end: if you see everyone you meet as a wise Holy Man (or Woman), "then whatever problem you brought here today will be solved."  This, to me, means no less than living according to the commandment of "love your neighbor as you love yourself" will solve any problems (which you may have with your "neighbors").

Jude,
You say "Everyone who comes into our lives is our soulmate." I cannot quite agree with this - but possibly I do not know what - exactly - the English "soul mate" signifies.

Edda,
Dr. Hufnagel obviously was a truly humble - and therefore - wise man.

Juliana
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Speak Peace in a World of Conflict

Juliana, In this instance, 'soul-mate' means, that every significant person who comes into our lives, (for however short or long a time) comes in order to teach us, (and also for us to teach them of course)
Difficult people, even if we only encounter them for a few minutes, are there to help us learn something. Our soul knows what we need to learn. I don't believe anything happens by chance.
Whether we learn from the encounters or not, depends on how we respond to them.
 
I've learnt a huge amount from the relationships I have had with people, especially over the last 10 years or so. This has been the biggest learning curve of my entire life.
Personally, I believe that ALL relationships, (friends, partners, children, neighbours, pets, teachers, priests, etc. etc.) are for us to learn from. Often it's the hardest ones, like that with my Son and ex-husband, which teach us the most.
I've learned the most from my present partner, who I would truly call my soul-mate, but he is an enormous challenge too, as well as being the love of my life.
No-one comes into our lives by chance.
 
I hope this explains what I meant. I have to admit I had trouble with it when I first heard it! We tend to think of a soul-mate as being someone like us and with whom we feel totally 'at home', and they can be that of course, but they can come to challenge us too.
 
Jude

Love is the only way

Richard, thank you for posting this story. I can only add an "Amen!!" to Jude's explanation.

Difficult people, even if we only encounter them for a few minutes, are there to help us learn something. Our soul knows what we need to learn.

All those difficult encounters immediately pose the question "What is going on inside of me, that I am reacting in this manner??? Why am I being this person's puppet and allowing this individual to pull my strings. Granted, it is so much easier to just stay extrnally focused on the other's behavior. Those in my own life who have been TRUE soul-mates have been those who I am totally 'at home' with AND, who are also willing to take the risk of challenging me. To me, these individuals are the greatest gifts in my life.

Yesterday is gone forever.Tomorrow may not come. Live Fully each moment today. Look for Good Things that Happen to you Every Day.

Betty, I agree wholeheartedly with that!
 
Jude

Love is the only way

The emperor, who was a devout Buddhist, invited a great Zen master to the Palace in order to ask him questions about Buddhism. "What is the highest truth of the holy Buddhist doctrine?" the emperor inquired.
"Vast emptiness... and not a trace of holiness," the master replied.
"If there is no holiness," the emperor said, "then who or what are you?"
"I do not know," the master replied.

            

               People's reactions to this story:

"We are all prisoners of our own knowledge - our disengagement begins when we dare to say 'I don't know.'"

"We must be the change we want to see in this world."

Please light a Candle in the "zendo"

Thank you, Richard.

This one is a good, simple story, which I need not rack my brains over . I agree whole-heartedly with its message.

Juliana
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Speak Peace in a World of Conflict

Richard,
I do not know whether you ever posted one famous Zen story. All I recall is this: a man comes to a Zen master, desiring to be his disciple. On the first morning, nothing happens. He then asks the master when he will start teaching him. To which the master replies, "Have you had breakfast? Then go and wash your cup!" Have you got the full text, and would you kindly post it for me and others, of course?

Juliana
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Speak Peace in a World of Conflict

A monk once asked Jo Ju, "I have just entered the monastery. Please teach me, Master."

Jo Ju said, "Have you had breakfast?"

"Yes, I have," replied the monk.

"Then," said Jo Ju, "wash your bowls."

The monk was enlightened.

 
This story is not listed on Suler's site so, we are hoping to receive many replies as to the meaning of this tale.

"We must be the change we want to see in this world."

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A young but earnest Zen student approached his teacher, and asked the Zen Master:
"If I work very hard and diligent how long will it take for me to find Zen."
The Master thought about this, then replied, "Ten years."
The student then said, "But what if I work very, very hard and really apply myself to learn fast -- How long then ?"
Replied the Master, "Well, twenty years."
"But, if I really, really work at it. How long then ?" asked the student.
"Thirty years," replied the Master.
"But, I do not understand," said the disappointed student. "At each time that I say I will work harder, you say it will take me longer. Why do you say that ?"
Replied the Master," When you have one eye on the goal, you only have one eye on the path."

"We must be the change we want to see in this world."

Please light a Candle in the "zendo"