The Fable of the Zen Master
Here’s another graphic going along with the theme of the most recent post about not resisting. It tells the short story of a zen master and his simple mantra on how to not judge an event, no matter how great or horrible it may seem at the time. Enjoy :)
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Bryan Hellard said on 08.19.2011
Theres a longer version of this… I remember hearing a different version of this… Aha! Here it is!
http://sivers.org/horses
Sean D Stevens said on 08.19.2011
I’ve also heard of a similar story:
The Zen master Hakuin was praised by his neighbors as one living a pure life.
A beautiful Japanese girl whose parents owned a food store lived near him. Suddenly, without any warning, her parents discovered she was with child.
This made her parents very angry. She would not confess who the man was, but after much harassment at last named Hakuin.
In great anger the parents went to the master. “Is that so?” was all he would say.
After the child was born it was brought to Hakuin. By this time he had lost his reputation, which did not trouble him, but he took very good care of the child. He obtained milk from his neighbors and everything else the little one needed.
A year later the girl-mother could stand it no longer. She told her parents the truth – that the real father of the child was a young man who worked in the fishmarket.
The mother and father of the girl at once went to Hakuin to ask his forgiveness, to apologize at length, and to get the child back again.
Hakuin was willing. In yielding the child, all he said was: “Is that so?”
Frankly, I find this to be more in tune with my policy of “Resisting by Non-resistance”, but that may be my opinion.
Kassandra said on 08.28.2011
Is that story from A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle? I know I’ve heard it before..
Aayoush Onta said on 08.19.2011
We’ll see.
mANIMAl said on 08.19.2011
True wisdom. It’s so sad how most people read your awesome posts but don’t take the knowledge. Or maybe it isn’t, and maybe they will. We’ll see.
Opinions are just stifling the soul, that’s why this zen master is such a god.
1.61803399 said on 08.19.2011
i may have learned something from this.. we’ll see.
Bryan said on 08.21.2011
Hmmm… such an indifferent way of looking at things. Worth a shot. =)
Johannes Davidsson said on 08.22.2011
There’s a chinese version of this. Chinese being more patrichal puts the father in the Zen Master position.
Sha Mualimm-Ak said on 08.26.2011
I don’t believe this is as much about indifference or being mechanical as it is about not rushing to perceive a “Positive” or a “Negative” from something that simply “Is”. I feel like there is nothing the zen master is waiting to “See”…more or less…
Kassandra said on 08.28.2011
Exactly!
It’s about disassociating from labels. Nothing is good or bad. Everything simply is.
George Colombo said on 02.08.2012
A pretty good telling:
http://youtu.be/B2L1-TgfKb4