The quieter you become, the more you are able to hear. – zen proverb
The Quieter You Become
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Category Archives: Classic Zen
The Obstacle is the Path
The obstacle is the path. –zen proverb
Do You Want Me to Thank You?
Photo by Photos8.com
The merchant Umeza decided to donate some money to the master Seietsu so that he could build a bigger school.
Umeza brought a bag full of coins and placed it before Seietsu, who was meditating. “This is for you to build a new school,” he said.
Seietsu opened his eyes, nodded, and went back to his meditations.
Umeza was a bit perturbed and he remarked, “There is enough money there to pay a year’s wages for 50 men.”
Seietsu opened his eyes and said, “So do you want me to thank you?”
Umeza said, “Well, isn’t it the least I should expect?”
Seietsu said, “Why should I? The giver should be thankful.” And he resumed his meditation.
Emptiness
Photo by OliBac
“But I have not said anything about emptiness,” said Subhuti.
“That is true,” came the reply. “You have not spoken about emptiness. We have not heard about emptiness. That is true emptiness.”
And the flowers continued to fall like the rain.
Tetsugen’s Sutras
Photo by ganap0627
Tetsugen was a zen master who lived in 17th century Japan. He wanted to produce a Japanese edition of the buddhist sutras (scriptures) which were then only available in Chinese. This was to be an expensive project because it involved making around 60,000 wooden blocks for printing.
Tetsugen wandered around Japan collecting funds for this project. Sometimes he would meet wealthy people who would offer gold and silver, but mostly he would encounter peasants who could only afford a few small coins.
After 10 years of traveling, he had collected enough funds to start his project. But there was a great flood as the river Uji overflowed. People were left homeless and starving. Tetsugen used all the money he collected to help them.
Then he began traveling and collecting money again for his project. It was several more years before he thought he had enough. Just then, an epidemic spread throughout Japan and Tetsugen once more gave away all that he had collected to aid the afflicted ones.
Then he started traveling again. Twenty years later (and one year before he died), he was able to fulfill his dream of printing the sutras in Japanese. The original printing blocks he used are preserved today in the Obaku Monastery in Kyoto, Japan.
The Japanese like to tell their children that Tetsugen actually produced three editions of the sutras, but the first two are invisible and far superior to the last.
