Once upon a time there was a woodcutter who turned up one day looking for work at a lumberyard. The salary was good and the conditions were even better, so the woodcutter had every intention of making a good impression. The first day, he introduced himself to the foreman, who gave him an axe and […]
The Zen teacher’s dog loved his evening romp with his master. The dog would bound ahead to fetch a stick, then run back, wag his tail, and wait for the next game. On this particular evening, the teacher invited one of his brightest students to join him – a boy so intelligent that he became […]
A farmer got so old that he couldn’t work the fields anymore. So he would spend the day just sitting on the porch. His son, still working the farm, would look up from time to time and see his father sitting there. ‘He’s of no use any more,’ the son thought to himself, ‘he doesn’t […]
The pupils of the Tendai school used to study meditation before Zen entered Japan. Four of them who were intimate friends promised one another to observe seven days of silence. On the first day all were silent. Their meditation had begun auspiciously, but when night came and the oil lamps were growing dim one of […]
A student went to his meditation teacher and said, ‘My meditation is horrible! I feel so distracted, or my legs ache, or I’m constantly falling asleep. It’s just horrible!’ ‘It will pass,’ the teacher said matter-of-factly. A week later, the student came back to his teacher. ‘My meditation is wonderful! I feel so aware, so […]
A martial arts student went to his teacher and said earnestly, ‘I am devoted to studying your martial system. How long will it take me to master it.’ The teacher’s reply was casual, ‘Ten years.’ Impatiently, the student answered, ‘But I want to master it faster than that. I will work very hard. I will […]
Great Wave swelled far off in Bermuda and began to rise and fall, rise and fall, his way across the great ocean. Each time he rose, he rose a little further. And each time he fell, he fell a little further. On and on as he swirled his way across the great water desert. ‘You […]
Back in the third century A.D., the King Ts’ao sent his son, Prince T’ai, to the temple to study under the great master Pan Ku. Because Prince T’ai was to succeed his father as king, Pan Ku was to teach the boy the basics of being a good ruler. When the prince arrived at the […]
Several friends agreed to meet on the night of the full moon for an evening of wine and storytelling. Each person was to bring a jug of fine wine. The wine would all be poured into a bowl, and the friends would share the wine throughout the evening. As each one planned for the evening, […]
When the son of a professional thief saw his father getting older, he worried because he had not learned any trade to make a living for himself. So, he asked his father to teach him his trade. ‘All right, I’ll show you,’ his father said. One night, the thief took his son to a rich man’s […]
