zen stories - arise roby

Zen

ZEN MASTER – STORIES

ARISE TRAINING & RESEARCH CENTER 1

Zen


There once lived a great warrior. A young warrior arrived at the village, determined to be the first man to defeat the great master. As the two squared off for battle, the young warrior began to hurl insults at the old master. He threw dirt and spat on his face. But the old warrior merely stood there, motionless and calm. Finally, the young warrior exhausted himself and he left feeling shamed. The students gathered around the old master and asked,” How could you endure such indignity? Why did you drive him away without even fighting?”“If someone comes to give you a gift and you do not receive it,” the master replied, “to whom does the gift belong?”There is no need to get even with people when you know you can actually get ahead of them.

ZenA hermit was meditating by a river when a young man interrupted him, “Master, I want to find god.” The master jumped up, grabbed the man by the scruff of his neck, dragged him into the river, and plunged his head under water. After holding him there for a minute, with him kicking and struggling to free himself, the master finally pulled his head out of the water. The young man coughed up water and gasped for breath. The master asked, “Tell me what you desired the most when you were under water.” “Air!” replied the exasperated man.“Very well,” said the master. “Go home and come back to me when you want god as much as you just wanted air.”Wishing, needing, wanting and desiring isn’t seeking. You are a seeker only when you are willing to give everything you’ve got, even your own self.


Zen

During a momentous battle, the general decided to attack even though his army was greatly outnumbered. Though he was confident, his men were filled with doubt. The general took out a coin and said, “ If it is heads we shall win. If it is tails, we shall lose. Destiny will now reveal itself.” He threw the coins 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 emerged 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 that had heads on both sides.Destiny is a matter of choice, not a matter of chance.


Zen

A martial arts student approached his teacher with a question. “I’d like to improve my knowledge of the martial arts. So in addition to learning from you, I’d like to study under 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.”

Focus is not only your ability to stay attracted to the ‘One’,but also the discipline to avoid the distraction of the other ‘Ninety-nine’.


Zen

A rich man asked a Zen master to write something that the family could cherish for generations. On a large piece of paper, the master wrote, “Father dies, son dies, grandson dies.” The rich man became angry when he saw the master’s words.

“ If your son should die before you,” the master answered, “this would bring unbearable grief to your family. If your grandson should die before your son this would also bring great sorrow. If your family, generations after generation, disappears in the order I have mentioned, it will be the natural course of life. This is true happiness.”Knowledge has its ways which ignorance knows not. Ask questions to the master; don’t questions the master.


Zen

Two monks were washing their bowls in the river when they noticed a scorpion that was drowning. One monk immediately scooped it u and set it upon the back. In the process, he was stung. As he went back to washing his bowl, the scorpion fell in again. The monk saved it again and was again stung. The other monk asked him, “ Friend, why do you continue to save the scorpion when you know its nature is to sting.”“Because,” the monk replied, “ to save it is my nature.”Divinity sings from the heart of those who can be good even to those who have not been so good to them.


Zen

Two monks reached a river where they met a young woman. Wary of the current, she asked if they could carry her across. One of the months hesitated, but the other quickly picked her up, carried her across the river on his shoulders and set her down on the other bank. As the monks continued their journey, one of them unable to hold his silence, spoke out, “ Brother, out spiritual training teaches us to avoid any contact with woman, but you picked that one up and carried her on your shoulders.”“ Brother,” replied the second monk, “ I set her down on the other side long time back, while you are still carrying her.”Yesterday was over yesterday. Life should be a forward progression and not a backward regression. Save your future from the clutches of you past.


Zen

There was an old lady whose elder daughter was married to an umbrella seller, and younger daughter to a noodle vendor. On sunny days, she would worry, “ Oh no, you cannot dry noodles without the sun.” As a result, the old lady lived in sorrow everyday.

One day, she met a monk. The monk smiled kindly and said, “ Madam, you need to change our perspective. On sunny days, think of the younger daughter being able to dry her noodles. When it rains, think about you elder daughter being able to sell umbrellas.”

Instead of asking “Why me god? For all your troubles, start asking “Why me god?” for all your blessing. Count your blessing and never your troubles.


Zen

As he was about to sip his tea, the disciple notices a fly in his cup. The master too noticed it and exclaimed, “ Oh, oh, a fly in the tea!” The disciple replied, “ Oh, nothing! Its no problem.” But the master, with concern written all over his face, rose from his chair and dipped his finger into the tea. With great care, he took the offending fly out and placed it on the leaf of a bush so its wings could dry. Then the master turned towards his disciple and said, “ It wasn’t a question of the tea, but the life of the fly. You can always make another cup of tea, but the fly wouldn’t have got another moment to live… if we hadn’t acted in time.”

Use things and love life. Don’t have things and abuse life.


Zen

A young man caught a small bird, held it behind his back and asked, “ Master, is the bird I am holding in my hands dead or alive?” The boy thought this was a grand opportunity to play a trick on the master. The master replied, “ If I were to say ‘dead’, you would let the bird free into the air.If I were to say ‘alive’, you would simply wring he bird’s neck and show me a dead bird. “The boy dropped his head in shame.

The master then added, “Remember my boy, life and death is in your own hands.”It is not your intelligence, but it is the direction of your intelligence that defines our life.


Zen

THANK YOU


zen stories - arise roby

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