Some enlightening Zen Stories

Richard,
It seems the old master is simply being a mirror. What the young warrior said was directed back at him.
 
I did read other people's reaction to the story. I particularly liked this comment:
 
"It's not what happens to you that matters, it's what happens in you."

You are all tooo kind;  i just cut and paste this stuff !!

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

Please light a Candle in the "zendo"

ORIGINAL: zenmember

You are all tooo kind;  i just cut and paste this stuff !!

 
Which takes intention and initiative!  I appreciate you and your stories!
 
I had several thoughts about the last story.  I thought of that saying (but couldn't remember all of it) about "old age and treachery."  I think the old warrior knew who he was, didn't have to prove anything, and let the young warrior's arrogance be his undoing.  (I hope to get to this kind of self-knowledge someday, wish me luck!)
 
Lori

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

Richard, do you REALLY "just cut and paste this stuff"? I think you have some ideas of your own about the meaning of these stories because they do catch your attention. I also think you enjoy our sometimes fumbling answers!
 
Edda

Peace and joy!

Oops, caught again !!!  Of course, we all know 'there is nothing new under the sun.'
AND, There's a wee bit of truth/good in everything, isn't there??
 
I wish you both every success in your journey but remember, that part about "old age and treachery" could prove to be somewhat of a myth.
 
Actually, I've just started to re-read Shunryu Suzuki's "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind" and it is amazing to realize how many new interpretations jump out at you, even on the fifth reading.

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

Please light a Candle in the "zendo"

There once was a monastery that was very strict. Following a vow of silence, no one was allowed to speak at all. But there was one exception to this rule. Every ten years, the monks were permitted to speak just two words. After spending his first ten years at the monastery, one monk went to the head monk. "It has been ten years," said the head monk. "What are the two words you would like to speak?"
"Bed... hard..." said the monk.
"I see," replied the head monk.
Ten years later, the monk returned to the head monk's office. "It has been ten more years," said the head monk. "What are the two words you would like to speak?"
"Food... stinks..." said the monk.
"I see," replied the head monk.
Yet another ten years passed and the monk once again met with the head monk who asked, "What are your two words now, after these ten years?"
"I... quit!" said the monk.
"Well, I can see why," replied the head monk. "All you ever do is complain."
 
Read other People's reactions to this story:

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

Please light a Candle in the "zendo"

Richard, I definitely take sides with the monk who quit. It seems to me that the last line, i.e. what the head monk says, was added simply for the sake of a funny ending. If you forget about it, we may argue that the monk who left was enlightened. He must have been - after 30 years of bearing all kinds of hardship in complete silence! 

Juliana
_____________________________
Speak Peace in a World of Conflict

Juliana;
 
Let's hear it for the underdog.  The Master is supposed to do no harm.  However, if you read the "other responses", this is not a true traditional zen story.  You got it right, it's a take off from a western joke.
 
best wishes, rj

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."

 
Read other People's reactions to this story:

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

Please light a Candle in the "zendo"

This priest not only took meticulous care of the garden but tried to make it too perfect by arranging the fallen leaves. The Zen master taught him not to try to improve upon nature, to let the leaves fall where they may. The priest also seemed to try to impress his special guests with the exquisite care, but the Zen master brought him, and the leaves, down to earth.

In reflecting on this story it also occurred to me that we may become too concerned about tidying up the house for guests, trying to make a good impression, rather than to let it be seen in its lived-in condition. Our home is meant to be an inviting, comfortable place, not one where one is afraid to sit down or use the guest towels.

Edda

Peace and joy!

Richard, I hope you do not think I am transgressing (right word?) on your territory, by telling a Zen story? I found it in "Wabi Sabi, The Art of Everyday Life", which was recommended on the book thread by Barbara G.

"Tenno Dogo had a disciple called Soshin. When Soshin was taken in as a novice, it was perhaps natural of him to expect lessons in Zen from his teacher the way a school boy is taught at school. But Dogo gave him no special lessons on the subject, and this bewildered and disappointed Soshin. One day he said to the master, "It is some time since I came here, but not a word has been given me regarding the essence of the Zen teaching."  Dogo replied, "Since your arrival I have ever been giving you lessons on the matter of Zen discipline."
"What kind of lesson could it have been?"
"When you bring me a cup of tea in the morning, I take it; when you serve me a meal, I accept it; when you bow to me, I return it with a nod. How else to you expect to be taught in the mental discipline of Zen?"
Soshin hung his head for a while, pondering the puzzling words of the master. The master said, "If you want to see, see right at once. When you begin to think, you miss the point."

Juliana
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True humanness consists of a continuous series of tiny acts executed with absolute sincerity and largeness of heart. Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Juliana;
 
I love that little book.  Recently, I discovered it at a Bookstore/Coffree Shop we drop into on occasion.  I've picked it up each time and read snippets. To that end, I believe I have finished it and started to reread it.   Someday I may buy it and bring it home.
 
It talks of the true essence of being which is symbolized in the Tea ceremony.  Four aspects of this essence are Wa-Kei-Sei-Jaku; harmony, respect, purity and tranquility.  These are also the definition of Wabi-Sabi itself.
 
I'm glad you decided to share it.
 
 

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

Please light a Candle in the "zendo"

When the spiritual teacher and his disciples began their evening meditation, the cat who lived in the monastery made such noise that it distracted them. So the teacher ordered that the cat be tied up during the evening practice. Years later, when the teacher died, the cat continued to be tied up during the meditation session. And when the cat eventually died, another cat was brought to the monastery and tied up. Centuries later, learned descendants of the spiritual teacher wrote scholarly treatises about the religious significance of tying up a cat for meditation practice.

      

People's reactions to this story:

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

Please light a Candle in the "zendo"

Thank you for this one, Richard! I like it for its relevance to the present. It seems to me that we keep "tied up cats" in various organizations. I know about several in my religion, but there are also people who point to them and do whatever they can to work for change.

Juliana
_____________________________
Speak Peace in a World of Conflict

Richard, I agree with Juliana. There may be also some "tied-up cats" in our own lives. We get into the habit of doing something for a good reason, and continue when that reason no longer applies!
 
Edda

Peace and joy!

very true; do you think this is why the story is told??

Richard, it might very well be at least one reason!
 
Edda

Peace and joy!

Maybe another reason is that the noisy cat is like our thoughts.  Anyone who has a cat knows that tying it up doesn't make it quieter.  Thoughts are that way too.  If you try to resist them, they become stronger, louder, more distracting.  It's probably a better (more beneficial) discipline to learn to meditate among the "distractions" (a/k/a "life").  That practice is more likely to bear fruit in real life, it seems to me. 
 
I laughed out loud when I read this story. 
 
Lori
 
 

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

This Zen story is dedicated to Richard and Thankful One. To Richard, because of the Zen stories he has been telling us, and to Thankful One, because he keeps drawing our attention to the beauty of flowers.

One of the best-loved stories about Sen no Rikyu, the revered 16th-century tea master, involves his relationship with Hideyoshi Toyotomi, a great warlord, whom he served as an advisor on matters of art and taste.

Upon hearing of an exquisite display of morning glories in Rikyu´s garden, the warlord asked to see it. To honor the request, one morning Rikyu invited him to tea.
As the warlord walked down the garden path, there were no flowers anywhere to be seen. When he entered the tea hut, however, his eyes were drawn to a single morning glory displayed in the alcove.
Rikyu had ordered all the morning glories in the garden to be cut down that morning to focus his lordship´s attention on the single exquisite blossom.

Juliana
___________________________
Speak Peace in a World of Conflict

Juliana, what a practical story and how very wise of the tea master. A garden full of blooms blinds us to the beauty of just one. Excesses produce boredom, scarcity produces appreciation. The first flower of spring is often so much more appreciated than all the constant flowers of summer.

Richard I really liked the practically of your story and it's call to each one of us to find the "sacred tied up cats" in each of our own lives. This provides true spiritual growth and intimacy with the divine rather than spiritual intimacy with all of our "sacred tied up cats" that have become our gods.

A blessed weekend to all.

Shalom(May you be at peace in Body, Mind,& Spirit.)
I'menuff