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1.Banishing a Ghost
The wife of a man became very sick. On her deathbed, she said to him, "I love
you so much! I don't want to leave you, and I don't want you to betray me.
Promise that you will not see any other women once I die, or I will come back to
haunt you."
For several months after her death, the husband did avoid other women, but then
he met someone and fell in love. On the night that they were engaged to be
married, the ghost of his former wife appeared to him. She blamed him for not
keeping the promise, and every night thereafter she returned to taunt him. The
ghost would remind him of everything that transpired between him and his fiancee
that day, even to the point of repeating, word for word, their conversations. It
upset him so badly that he couldn't sleep at all.
Desperate, he sought the advice of a Zen master who lived near the village.
"This is a very clever ghost," the master said upon hearing the man's story. "It
is!" replied the man. "She remembers every detail of what I say and do. It knows
everything!" The master smiled, "You should admire such a ghost, but I will tell
you what to do the next time you see it."
That night the ghost returned. The man responded just as the master had advised.
"You are such a wise ghost," the man said, "You know that I can hide nothing
from you. If you can answer me one question, I will break off the engagement and
remain single for the rest of my life." "Ask your question," the ghost replied.
The man scooped up a handful of beans from a large bag on the floor, "Tell me
exactly how many beans there are in my hand."
At that moment the ghost disappeared and never returned.
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2.Bell Teacher
A new student approached the Zen master and asked how he should prepare himself
for his training. "Think of me a bell," the master explained. "Give me a soft
tap, and you will get a tiny ping. Strike hard, and you'll receive a loud,
resounding peal."
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3.Books
Once there was a well known philosopher and scholar who devoted himself to the
study of Zen for many years. On the day that he finally attained enlightenment,
he took all of his books out into the yard, and burned them all.
*********************
4.Christian Buddha
One of master Gasan's monks visited the university in Tokyo. When he returned,
he asked the master if he had ever read the Christian Bible. "No," Gasan
replied, "Please read some of it to me." The monk opened the Bible to the Sermon
on the Mount in St. Matthew, and began reading. After reading Christ's words
about the lilies in the field, he paused. Master Gasan was silent for a long
time. "Yes," he finally said, "Whoever uttered these words is an enlightened
being. What you have read to me is the essence of everything I have been trying
to teach you here!"
(In another version of this story, it is a Christian who reads the Bible passage
to Gasan.) *************************
5.Chasing Two Rabbits
A martial arts student approached his teacher with a question. "I'd like to
improve my knowledge of the martial arts. In addition to learning from you, I'd
like to study with another teacher in order to learn another style. What do you
think of this idea?"
"The hunter who chases two rabbits," answered the master, "catches neither one."
*****************************
6.Cliffhanger
One day while walking through the wilderness a man stumbled upon a vicious
tiger. He ran but soon came to the edge of a high cliff. Desperate to save
himself, he climbed down a vine and dangled over the fatal precipice. As he hung
there, two mice appeared from a hole in the cliff and began gnawing on the vine.
Suddenly, he noticed on the vine a plump wild strawberry. He plucked it and
popped it in his mouth. It was incredibly delicious!
(One reader claimed that Thomas Cleary once told him that the original ending of
this story was quite different. According to Cleary, D.T. Suzuki changed the
ending because he thought the original would not appeal to Westerners. The story
was then picked up by others, such as Paul Reps. In the original version, the
strawberry turns out to be, in fact, deadly poison.)
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7.Concentration
After winning several archery contests, the young and rather boastful champion
challenged a Zen master who was renowned for his skill as an archer. The young
man demonstrated remarkable technical proficiency when he hit a distant bull's
eye on his first try, and then split that arrow with his second shot. "There,"
he said to the old man, "see if you can match that!" Undisturbed, the master did
not draw his bow, but rather motioned for the young archer to follow him up the
mountain. Curious about the old fellow's intentions, the champion followed him
high into the mountain until they reached a deep chasm spanned by a rather
flimsy and shaky log. Calmly stepping out onto the middle of the unsteady and
certainly perilous bridge, the old master picked a far away tree as a target,
drew his bow, and fired a clean, direct hit. "Now it is your turn," he said as
he gracefully stepped back onto the safe ground. Staring with terror into the
seemingly bottomless and beckoning abyss, the young man could not force himself
to step out onto the log, no less shoot at a target. "You have much skill with
your bow," the master said, sensing his challenger's predicament, "but you have
little skill with the mind that lets loose the shot."
*****************************
8.Destiny
During a momentous battle, a Japanese general decided to attack even though his
army was greatly outnumbered. He was confident they would win, but his men were
filled with doubt. On the way to the battle, they stopped at a religious shrine.
After praying with the men, the general took out a coin and said, "I shall now
toss this coin. If it is heads, we shall win. If tails, we shall lose. Destiny
will now reveal itself."
He threw the coin into the air and all watched intently as it landed. It was
heads. The soldiers were so overjoyed and filled with confidence that they
vigorously attacked the enemy and were victorious. After the battle, a
lieutenant remarked to the general, "No one can change destiny."
"Quite right," the general replied as he showed the lieutenant the coin, which
had heads on both sides.
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9.Dreaming
The great Taoist master Chuang Tzu once dreamt that he was a butterfly
fluttering here and there. In the dream he had no awareness of his individuality
as a person. He was only a butterfly. Suddenly, he awoke and found himself
laying there, a person once again. But then he thought to himself, "Was I before
a man who dreamt about being a butterfly, or am I now a butterfly who dreams
about being a man?"
***************************
10.Egotism
The Prime Minister of the Tang Dynasty was a national hero for his success as
both a statesman and military leader. But despite his fame, power, and wealth,
he considered himself a humble and devout Buddhist. Often he visited his
favorite Zen master to study under him, and they seemed to get along very well.
The fact that he was prime minister apparently had no effect on their
relationship, which seemed to be simply one of a revered master and respectful
student.
One day, during his usual visit, the Prime Minister asked the master, "Your
Reverence, what is egotism according to Buddhism?" The master's face turned red,
and in a very condescending and insulting tone of voice, he shot back, "What
kind of stupid question is that!?"
This unexpected response so shocked the Prime Minister that he became sullen and
angry. The Zen master then smiled and said, "THIS, Your Excellency, is
egotism.""
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