Midnight Excursion

gentle-meditation.com — Many pupils were studying meditation under the Zen master Sengai. One of them used to arise at night, climb over the temple wall, and go to town on a pleasure jaunt. Sengai, inspecting the dormitory quarters, found this pupil missing one night and also discovered the high stool he had used to scale the wall. Sengai removed the stool and stood there in its place. When the wanderer returned, not knowing that Sengai was the stool, he put his feet on the master's head and jumped down into the grounds. Discovering what he had done, he was aghast. Sengai said: "It is very chilly in the early morning. Do be careful not to catch cold yourself." The pupil never went out at night again. read more...

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Fire-Poker Zen

gentle-meditation.com — Hakuin used to tell his pupils about an old woman who had a teashop, praising her understanding of Zen. The pupils refused to believe what he told them and would go to the teashop to find out for themselves. Whenever the woman saw them coming she could tell at once whether they had come for tea or to look into her grasp of Zen. In the former case, she would serve them graciously. In the latter, she would beckon the pupils to come behind her screen. The instant they obeyed, she would strike them with a fire-poker. Nine out of ten of them could not escape her beating. read more...

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Joshu's Zen

gentle-meditation.com — Joshu began the study of Zen when he was sixty years old and continued until he was eighty, when he realized Zen. He taught from the age of eighty until he was one hundred and twenty. A student once asked him: "If I haven't anything in my mind, what shall I do?" Joshu replied: "Throw it out." "But if I haven't anything, how can I throw it out?" continued the questioner. "Well," said Joshu, "then carry it out." read more...

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Sleeping in the Daytime

gentle-meditation.com — The master Soyen Shaku passed from this world when he was sixty-one years of age. Fulfilling his life's work, he left a great teaching, far richer than that of most Zen masters. His pupils used to sleep in the daytime during midsummer, and while he overlooked this he himself never wasted a minute. When he was but twelve years old he was already studying Tendai philosophical speculation. One summer day the air had been so sultry that little Soyen stretched his legs and went to sleep while his teacher was away. Three hours passed when, suddenly waking, he heard his master enter, but it was too late. There he lay, sprawled across the doorway. "I beg your pardon, I beg your pardon," his teacher whispered, stepping carefully over Soyen's body as if it were that of some distinguished guest. After this, Soyen never slept again in the afternoon. read more...

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Publishing the Sutras

gentle-meditation.com — Tetsugen, a devotee of Zen in Japan, decided to publish the sutras, which at that time were available only in Chinese. The books were to be printed with wood blocks in an edition of seven thousand copies, a tremendous undertaking. Tetsugen began by traveling and collecting donations for this purpose. A few sympathizers would give him a hundred pieces of gold, but most of the time he received only small coins. He thanked each donor with equal gratitude. After ten years Tetsugen had enough money to begin his task. It happened that at that time the Uji River overflowed. Famine followed. Tetsugen took the funds he had collected for the books and spent them to save others from starvation. Then he began again his work of collecting. Several years afterwards an epidemic spread over the country. Tetsugen again gave away what he had collected, to help his people. read more...

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Accurate Proportion

ashidakim.com — Sen no Rikyu, a tea-master, wished to hang a flower basket on a column. he asked a carpenter to help him, directing the man to place it a little higher or lower, to the right or left, until he had found exactly the right spot. "That's the place," said Sen no Rikyu finally. The carpenter, to test the master, marked the spot and then pretended he had forgotten. Was this the place? "Was this the place, perhaps?" the carpenter kept asking, pointing to various places on the column. But so accurate was the tea-master's sense of proportion that it was not until the carpenter reached the identical spot again that its location was approved. read more...

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How Grass & Trees Become Enlightened

ashidakim.com — During the Kamakura period, Shinkan studied Tendai six years and then studied Zen seven years; then he went to China and contemplated Zen for thirteen years more. When he returned to Japan many desired to interview him and asked onscure questions. But when Shinkan received visitors, which was infrequently, he seldom answered their questions. One day a fifty-year-old student of enlightenment said to Shinkan: "I have studied the Tendai school of thought since I was a little boy, but one thing in it I cannot understand. Tendai claims that even the grass and trees will become enlightened. To me this eems very strange." read more...

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THE STORY OF TWO LOVERS

geocities.com — Once upon a time, an Indian King had two sons. One of them was very kind and compassionate, and the other was very mean and evil. For simplicity, we will call them the Good Heart Prince and the Evil Heart Prince respectively. One day, the King summoned them to the Imperial Court and said, "The welfare of my subjects is very important, and my government had been helping the poor people of this country. But now my treasury is almost empty and so I want you to go to see the Dragon King (God of the Ocean) and ask for help. Once you went to the ocean shore, you recite a mantra given to me by a Hermit yesterday. Then the Dragon King will come out to greet you and give you a precious pearl. Bring it home and put it in my treasury because it will bring prosperity to my kingdom and my people." read more...

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