Archive for July 3rd, 2008
Posted by kathavarta on July 3, 2008
Zen masters give personal guidance in a secluded room. No one enters while teacher and pupil are together.
Mokurai, the Zen master of Kennin temple in Kyoto, used to enjoy talking with merchants and newspapermen as well as with his pupils. A certain tubmaker was almost illiterate. He would ask foolish questions of Mokurai, have tea, and then go away.
One day while the tubmaker was there Mokurai wished to give personal guidance to a disciple, so he asked the tubmaker to wait in another room.
“I understand you are a living Buddha,” the man protested. “Even the stone Buddhas in the temple never refuse the numerous persons who come together before them. Why then should I be excluded?”
Mokurai had to go outside to see his disciple.
Posted in Moral story, Varta, Zen story | Tagged: Advice, Anger, Compassion, Counsel, Devotion, Education, Emptiness, Mokurai, People, Pride, Short Story, Story for Adult, Teacher, Varta, Zen story | Leave a Comment »
Posted by kathavarta on July 3, 2008
Ikkyu, the Zen master, was very clever even as a boy. His teacher had a precious teacup, a rare antique. Ikkyu happened to break this cup and was greatly perplexed. Hearing the footsteps of his teacher, he held the pieces of the cup behind him. When the master appeared, Ikkyu asked: “Why do people have to die?”
“This is natural,” explained the older man. “Everything has to die and has just so long to live.”
Ikkyu, producing the shattered cup, added: “It was time for your cup to die.”
Posted in Moral story, Varta, Zen story | Tagged: Affection, Care, Confession, Death, Education, Fear, Honesty, Ikkyu, Lie, Life, Short Story, Story for Adult, Truth, Varta, Zen story | Leave a Comment »
Posted by kathavarta on July 3, 2008
A long time ago in China there were two friends, one who played the harp skilfully and one who listen skillfully.
When the one played or sang about a mountain, the other would say: “I can see the mountain before us.”
When the one played about water, the listener would exclaim: “Here is the running stream!”
But the listener fell sick and died. The first friend cut the strings of his harp and never played again. Since that time the cutting of harp strings has always been a sign of intimate friendship.
Posted in Moral story, Varta, Zen story | Tagged: Accuracy, Affection, Companion, Death, Devotion, Friend, Life, Listener, Love, Short Story, Story for Adult, Varta, Zen story | 1 Comment »
Posted by kathavarta on July 3, 2008
Hyakujo, the Chinese Zen master, used to labor with his pupils even at the age of eighty, trimming the gardens, cleaning the grounds, and pruning the trees.
The pupils felt sorry to see the old teacher working so hard, but they knew he would not listen to their advice to stop, so they hid away his tools.
That day the master did not eat. The next day he did not eat, nor the next. “He may be angry because we have hidden his tools,” the pupils surmised. “We had better put them back.”
The day they did, the teacher worked and ate the same as before. In the evening he instructed them: “No work, no food.”
Posted in Moral story, Varta, Zen story | Tagged: Advice, Anger, Compassion, Devotion, Education, Hard work, Honesty, Humanity, Hyakujo, Justice, Labour, Life, Necessity, Short Story, Story for Adult, Teacher, Varta, Zen story | Leave a Comment »
Posted by kathavarta on July 3, 2008
Yamaoka Tesshu, as a young student of Zen, visited one master after another. He called upon Dokuon of Shokoku.
Desiring to show his attainment, he said: “The mind, Buddha, and sentient beings, after all, do not exist. The true nature of phenomena is emptiness. There is no realization, no delusion, no sage, no mediocrity. There is no giving and nothing to be received.”
Dokuon, who was smoking quietly, said nothing. Suddenly he whacked Yamaoka with his bamboo pipe. This made the youth quite angry.
“If nothing exists,” inquired Dokuon, “where did this anger come from?”
Posted in Moral story, Varta, Zen story | Tagged: Act, Affection, Anger, Body, Dokuon, Education, Emptiness, Experience, Pride, Short Story, Story for Adult, Teacher, Yamaoka Tesshu, Zen master, Zen story | Leave a Comment »
Posted by kathavarta on July 3, 2008
Gasan was sitting at the bedside of Tekisui three days before his teacher’s passing. Tekisui had already chosen him as his successor.
A temple recently had burned and Gasan was busy rebuilding the structure. Tekisui asked him: “What are you going to do when you get the temple rebuilt?”
“When your sickness is over we want you to speak there,” said Gasan.
“Suppose I do not live until then?”
“Then we will get someone else,” replied Gasan.
“Suppose you cannot find anyone?” continued Tekisui.
Gasan answered loudly: “Don’t ask such foolish questions. Just go to sleep.”
Posted in Moral story, Varta, Zen story | Tagged: Affection, Anger, Care, Confession, Death, Devotion, Education, Fear, Gasan, Help, Life, Necessity, Self-Confidence, Short Story, Story for Adult, Tekisui, Varta, Zen story | Leave a Comment »
