For centuries,Zenmasters have used stories andkoans, orparadoxical riddles, to help students realize their true nature.
Here are seven of our favorite Zen stories.
Only you might meditate upon them to realize the insights within them.
If they are defined, they are not Zen.
It will be impossible after all.
Without further ado, come see for yourself.
Thirty Years
A variation of this story is also known asThe Taste of Banzos Sword.
The Zen master looked him up and down and said, Ten years.
Said the young man, You dont understand!
Im
Thirty years, said the Zen master
.
Muddy Road
Tanzan and Ekido were once traveling together down a muddy road.
A heavy rain was still falling.
Come on, girl, said Tanzan at once.
Lifting her in his arms, he carried her over the mud.
Ekido did not speak again until that night when they reached a lodging temple.
Then he no longer could restrain himself.
We monks dont go near females, he told Tanzan, especially not young and lovely ones.
Why did you do that?
I left the girl there, said Tanzan.
Are you still carrying her?
The letters are unusually large, and those who appreciate calligraphy always admire them as being a masterpiece.
They were drawn by Kosen two hundred years ago.
That is not good, he told Kosen after the first effort.
How is that one?
Worse than before, pronounced the pupil.
A masterpiece, pronounced the pupil.
Can you do such a wonderful thing?
My miracle is that when I feel hungry I eat, and when I feel thirsty I drink.
Nothing Exists
Yamaoka Tesshu
, as a young student of Zen, visited one master after another.
He called upon
Dokuon
of Shokoku.
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?
Joshus Washing The Bowl
A monk told
Joshu
, I have just entered this monastery.
I beg you to teach me.
Joshu asked, Have you eaten your rice porridge?
The monk replied, I have.
Then, said Joshu, Go and wash your bowl.
At that moment the monk was enlightened.
A Smile in His Lifetime
Mokugen was never known to smile until his last day on earth.
Show me your real interpretation of Zen.
Whoever expresses this most clearly shall be my successor and receive my robe and bowl.
Everyone watched Mokugens severe face, but no one answered.
Encho, a disciple who had been with his teacher for a long time, moved near the bedside.
He pushed forward the medicine cup a few inches.
That was his answer to the command.
The teachers face became even more severe.
Is that all you understand?
Encho reached out and moved the cup back again.
A beautiful smile broke over the features of Mokugen.
You rascal, he told Encho.
You worked with me ten years and have not yet seen my whole body.
Take the robe and bowl.
They belong to you.
