zenbananas | zen stories for meditation

Photo by Wonderlane

The master lived in a dictatorial country where the political leaders were corrupt and the military was abusive.

Every morning, the master would go out of his house and head to the nearby field where there was a large tree. He would sit under the tree and meditate in the shade.

One day, a policeman intercepted the master and said, “Where are you going?”

“I don’t know,” replied the master.

“You’re lying. I have watched you every day for the last two weeks. You go to that field and sit under the tree. Since you are lying to me, you are obviously up to no good.” So the policeman arrested him and put him in jail to await questioning. As the policeman locked the jail door and turned to walk away, the master called out to him, “See what I mean when I told you a while ago that I didn’t know where I was going?”