Zen Stories to Tell Your Neighbors

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Zen Stories to Tell Your Neighbors

Postby Masato » Fri Apr 29, 2016 5:24 pm

Moving Mind

Two men were arguing about a flag flapping in the wind.

"It's the wind that is really moving," stated the first one.

"No, it is the flag that is moving," contended the second.

A Zen master, who happened to be walking by,
overheard the debate and interrupted them.

"Neither the flag nor the wind is
moving," he said, "It is MIND that moves."

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Postby Masato » Fri Apr 29, 2016 5:25 pm

The Nature of Things

Two monks were washing their bowls in the river when they noticed a
scorpion that was drowning. One monk immediately scooped it up and set it
upon the bank. In the process he was stung. He went back to washing his
bowl and again the scorpion fell in. The monk saved the scorpion and was
again stung. The other monk asked him, "Friend, why do you continue to
save the scorpion when you know it's nature is to sting?"
"Because," the monk replied, "to save it is my nature."


(Another version of this story describes a fox who agrees to carry a
scorpion on its back across a river, upon the condition that the
scorpion does not sting him. But the scorpion does indeed sting the
fox when they are in midstream. As the fox begins to drown,
taking the scorpion with him, he pleadingly asks why the scorpion
has jeopardized both of them by stinging. "Because it's my nature."
This story sometimes is attributed to Native Americans lore.)

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Postby Masato » Fri Apr 29, 2016 5:26 pm

Nature's Beauty

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."

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Postby Masato » Fri Apr 29, 2016 5:26 pm

No More Questions

Upon meeting a Zen master at a social event, a psychiatrist decided to ask
him a question that had been on his mind. "Exactly how do you help
people?" he inquired.

"I get them where they can't ask any more questions," the Master answered.

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Postby Masato » Fri Apr 29, 2016 5:27 pm

Not Dead Yet

The Emperor asked Master Gudo, "What happens to a man of
enlightenment after death?"

"How should I know?" replied Gudo.

"Because you are a master," answered the Emperor.

"Yes sir," said Gudo, "but not a dead one."

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Postby Masato » Fri Apr 29, 2016 5:27 pm

Obsessed

Two traveling monks reached a river where they met a young woman. Wary
of the current, she asked if they could carry her across. One of the monks
hesitated, but the other quickly picked her up onto his shoulders, transported
her across the water, and put her down on the other bank. She thanked him
and departed.

As the monks continued on their way, the one was brooding and
preoccupied. Unable to hold his silence, he spoke out. "Brother, our spiritual
training teaches us to avoid any contact with women, but you picked that one
up on your shoulders and carried her!"

"Brother," the second monk replied, "I set her down on the other side, while
you are still carrying her."

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Postby Masato » Fri Apr 29, 2016 5:27 pm

Paradise

Two people are lost in the desert. They are dying from hunger and thirst.
Finally, they come to a high wall. On the other side they can hear the sound
of a waterfall and birds singing. Above, they can see the branches of a lush
tree extending over the top of the wall. Its fruit look delicious.

One of them manages to climb over the wall and disappears down the other
side. The other, instead, returns to the desert to help other lost travelers find
their way to the oasis.

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Postby Masato » Fri Apr 29, 2016 5:28 pm

Practice Makes Perfect

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.

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Postby Masato » Fri Apr 29, 2016 5:28 pm

The Present Moment

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.

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Postby Masato » Fri Apr 29, 2016 5:29 pm

Prosperity

A rich man asked a Zen master to write something down that could
encourage the prosperity of his family for years to come. It would be
something that the family could cherish for generations. On a large piece of
paper, the master wrote, "Father dies, son dies, grandson dies."

The rich man became angry when he saw the master's work. "I asked you to
write something down that could bring happiness and prosperity to my
family. Why do you give me something depressing like this?"

"If your son should die before you," the master answered, "this would bring
unbearable grief to your family. If your grandson should die before your son,
this also would bring great sorrow. If your family, generation after
generation, disappears in the order I have described, it will be the natural
course of life. This is true happiness and prosperity."


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