Talks on Zen Stories
Talks given from 11/08/74 am to 20/08/74 am English Discourse series
1 No Water No Moon2 Trading Dialogue for Lodging3 Is That So?4 The Dead Man's Answer5 Gutei's Finger6 Why Don't You Retire?7 Black-Nosed Buddha8 The Giver Should Be Thankful9 A Philosopher Asks Buddha10 Ninakawa Smiles
< Previous | Contents | Next > CHAPTER 1 No Water No Moon 11 August 1974 am in Buddha Hall THE NUN CHIYONO STUDIED FOR YEARS, BUT WAS UNABLE TO FIND ENLIGHTENMENT. ONE NIGHT, SHE WAS CARRYING AN OLD PAIL FILLED WITH WATER. AS SHE WAS WALKING ALONG, SHE WAS WATCHING THE FULL MOON REFLECTED IN THE PAIL OF WATER. SUDDENLY, THE BAMBOO STRIPS THAT HELD THE PAIL TOGETHER BROKE, AND THE PAIL FELL APART....
< Previous | Contents CHAPTER 10 Ninakawa Smiles 20 August 1974 am in Buddha Hall JUST BEFORE NINAKAWA PASSED AWAY THE ZEN MASTER IKKYU VISITED HIM. “SHALL I LEAD YOU ON?” IKKYU ASKED. NINAKAWA REPLIED, “I CAME HERE ALONE, AND I GO ALONE. WHAT HELP COULD YOU BE TO ME?” IKKYU ANSWERED, “IF YOU THINK YOU REALLY COME AND GO, THAT IS YOUR DELUSION. LET ME SHOW YOU THE PATH IN WHICH THERE IS NO COMING AND GOING....
< Previous | Contents | Next > CHAPTER 2 Trading Dialogue for Lodging 12 August 1974 am in Buddha Hall THERE IS AN OLD TRADITION IN SOME JAPANESE ZEN TEMPLES THAT IF A WANDERING MONK CAN WIN AN ARGUMENT ABOUT BUDDHISM WITH ONE OF THE RESIDENT MONKS, HE CAN STAY THE NIGHT. IF NOT, HE HAS TO MOVE ON. THERE WAS SUCH A TEMPLE IN NORTHERN JAPAN RUN BY TWO BROTHERS....
< Previous | Contents | Next > CHAPTER 3 Is That So? 13 August 1974 am in Buddha Hall THE ZEN MASTER HAKUIN WAS HONORED BY HIS NEIGHBORS AS ONE WHO LED A PURE LIFE. ONE DAY IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT A BEAUTIFUL GIRL WHO LIVED NEAR HAKUIN WAS PREGNANT. THE PARENTS WERE VERY ANGRY. AT FIRST THE GIRL WOULD NOT SAY WHO THE FATHER WAS, BUT AFTER MUCH HARASSMENT SHE NAMED HAKUIN....
< Previous | Contents | Next > CHAPTER 4 The Dead Man’s Answer 14 August 1974 am in Buddha Hall MAMIYA LATER BECAME A WELL-KNOWN TEACHER, BUT WHILE HE WAS STUDYING UNDER A MASTER HE WAS ASKED TO EXPLAIN THE SOUND OF ONE HAND CLAPPING. ALTHOUGH MAMIYA WORKED HARD AT IT HIS MASTER SAID TO HIM ONE DAY, “YOU ARE NOT WORKING HARD ENOUGH. YOU ARE TOO ATTACHED TO FOOD, WEALTH, THINGS – AND THAT SOUND....
< Previous | Contents | Next > CHAPTER 5 Gutei’s Finger 15 August 1974 am in Buddha Hall THE ZEN MASTER GUTEI MADE A PRACTICE OF RAISING HIS FINGER WHENEVER HE EXPLAINED A QUESTION ABOUT ZEN. A VERY YOUNG DISCIPLE BEGAN TO IMITATE HIM, AND WHENEVER ANYONE ASKED THE DISCIPLE WHAT HIS MASTER HAD BEEN PREACHING ABOUT, THE BOY WOULD RAISE HIS FINGER. GUTEI GOT TO HEAR ABOUT THIS, AND WHEN HE CAME UPON THE BOY AS HE WAS DOING IT ONE DAY, HE SEIZED THE BOY, WHIPPED OUT A KNIFE, CUT OFF HIS FINGER, AND THREW IT AWAY....
< Previous | Contents | Next > CHAPTER 6 Why Don’t You Retire? 16 August 1974 am in Buddha Hall TOKUSAN WAS STUDYING ZEN UNDER RYUTAN. ONE NIGHT TOKUSAN CAME TO RYUTAN AND ASKED MANY QUESTIONS. THE TEACHER SAID, “THE NIGHT IS GETTING OLD – WHY DON’T YOU RETIRE?” SO TOKUSAN BOWED, AND AS HE OPENED THE SCREEN TO GO OUT HE OBSERVED, “IT IS VERY DARK OUTSIDE.” RYUTAN OFFERED TOKUSAN A LIGHTED CANDLE TO FIND HIS WAY, BUT JUST AS TOKUSAN RECEIVED IT, RYUTAN BLEW IT OUT....
< Previous | Contents | Next > CHAPTER 7 Black-Nosed Buddha 17 August 1974 am in Buddha Hall A NUN WHO WAS SEARCHING FOR ENLIGHTENMENT MADE A WOODEN STATUE OF BUDDHA AND COVERED IT WITH GOLD LEAF. IT WAS VERY PRETTY AND SHE CARRIED IT WITH HER WHEREVER SHE WENT. YEARS PASSED, AND STILL CARRYING HER BUDDHA, THE NUN SETTLED DOWN IN A SMALL COUNTRY TEMPLE WHERE THERE WERE MANY STATUES OF BUDDHA EACH HAVING ITS OWN SHRINE....
< Previous | Contents | Next > CHAPTER 8 The Giver Should Be Thankful 18 August 1974 am in Buddha Hall THE MASTER SEISTSU REQUIRED LARGER PREMISES AS THE BUILDING HE WAS TEACHING IN WAS VERY OVERCROWDED. UMEZU, A MERCHANT, DECIDED TO DONATE FIVE HUNDRED PIECES OF GOLD FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW BUILDING. UMEZU TOOK THE MONEY TO THE TEACHER AND SEISTSU SAID, “ALL RIGHT, I WILL TAKE IT....
< Previous | Contents | Next > CHAPTER 9 A Philosopher Asks Buddha 19 August 1974 am in Buddha Hall A PHILOSOPHER CAME TO BUDDHA ONE DAY AND ASKED, “WITHOUT WORDS, WITHOUT THE WORDLESS, WILL YOU TELL ME THE TRUTH?” THE BUDDHA KEPT SILENCE. THE PHILOSOPHER BOWED AND THANKED BUDDHA, SAYING, “WITH YOUR LOVING KINDNESS I HAVE CLEARED AWAY MY DELUSIONS AND ENTERED THE TRUE PATH.” AFTER THE PHILOSOPHER HAD GONE ANANDA ASKED BUDDHA WHAT THE PHILOSOPHER HAD ATTAINED....