The new disciple approached the master and said, “I cannot take this any more. You are slowly stripping away all my traditions, all the beliefs I had ingrained in me since childhood. Why are you doing this? I need some solid ground.”
The master replied, “What is the solid ground of the fish swimming in the [...]

Others are revolted, I am unmoved.
Gripped by desires, I am unmoved.
Hearing the wisdom of sages, I am unmoved.
I move only in my own way.
– Lu Yu

The master declared,
“The journey of life is thus:
Imagine yourself and everything you possess falling from a very high cliff.
While falling, you reach out and grab hold of the things around you to stop your fall.
But everything around you is also falling.”

Two monks had taken a strict vow of celibacy which forbade them to touch a woman, even in the slightest of gestures.
One day, while taking a contemplative walk through the woods, they came upon a river. As they were about to cross, a woman lying on the riverbank called out to them. “Please sirs, I [...]