Zen Stories

[Gracie]

Personal story from yours truly:

Once upon a time, long ago, I was managing a fancy schmancy apartment complex. I needed an assistant manager to help hubby and I because it was quite a large property. So, we placed an ad in the newspaper for an experienced property manager. Many applied. One got the job.

Going back in time....long before I had such a position, I was a renter. A poor one, at that. Every check I got from working 18 hour days at minimum wage, went straight to the property management company. Every cent. I was alone at that time. Not married. Struggling. No food. One doberman as my best friend and roomie. My neighbors fed us. The mexican lady and her brood of 4 children and her husband always made sure to make extra for the gal upstairs..and her dog. The manager of the property tried hard to keep that roof over my head although he was getting his butt reamed by HIS boss that I had to be given notice because I was always behind on the rent. He put it off for 6 months until they threatened him with his own job. So he sadly came to hand me the eviction notice which was not really eviction YET. It was the dreaded 3 Day Pay Or Quit form. I heard him pull up in his shiney yellow vette, and he came to the door, handed it to me, and apologized. I didn't hold it against him, but I also knew I was in a shitload of trouble. No car, no place to go. Just me and the dog. Turns out I did find a place. That is when I became the Biker Chick and moved in with the club that lived down the street. The guys that called me Mom cuz I wanted them to keep clean and tidy..and they did. But that is another story.

Anyway....fast forward again. I am in my spiffy office overlooking the pool area. A couple just left, after a nice chat with me about how they would be perfect for the job (which came with a free fancy apartment, perks, and damn good pay). I had been meeting people all day who wanted the position. The last appointment finally came at the end of the day. A beat up yellow vette with primer on it in places along with some bondo pulled up. And out stepped a man I recognized. He was a bit heavier. Less hair on his head. But it was him. A woman got out with him. They smoothed out their clothing and came to the office and I waved to the two seats in front of my desk. They sat. He did not recognize me. Why would he? Here sat this woman with her hair in a bun, professional apparel on, fuller face from eating well, nylons covering long legs and feet in high heel shoes. Very debonair I was. Very.

So I asked him about his references, yadda yadda...knowing already what he was going to say and who he was going to use as reference. I listened to him, and he looks....sad. Like he was not expecting the job at all. She sat there with her hands folded in her lap, looking down. They both looked just used up. Beaten. Tired. Resigned. And I was thrilled. Excited. I was about to give back what was given.

When he was done telling me all the things people say when they want a job so badly to survive but are afraid they will not get it..I finally raised up and walked over to him and laid my hand on his shoulder. I said "You don't remember me, do you?" and he gawked at me. She raised her head and looked at me too. He looked perplexed, scanning my face. I smiled and said "You didn't want to. But you had to. And you knew Olivia and her family fed me. You were not afraid of Blue, my doberman because he liked you. And I saw the pain in your face, and the worry of what was to become of me, but your hands were tied. Get me gone, or you lose your job. So you did what you had to do". And as I am speaking, his face begins to change. A small smile begins, then his eyes finally blink and he sees me. Not the me right there. The THEN me. And he remembers. He stands up and hugs me and said he worried about what had become of me and I said I turned out fine. She raised up and said she knew of me because he came home from work that day he told me I had to go..and how upset he was. We all hugged. They sat. And I said "it is SO good to see you. I knew who you were as soon as you pulled up in that vette. Speaking of..what the HELL happened to it?" and he laughed and said "it got old. Like me".

My next words made me happy..and him and his wife too. I simply said "When can you start?"

Priceless.

 

[Gracie]

Nasrudin, the wise fool of Sufi tradition, passes in front of a cave, sees a yogi in deep meditation, and asks him what he is seeking.

- I am contemplating the animals, and I learn many lessons from them which can transform a man’s life – says the yogi.

- Teach me what you know. And I will teach you what I have learned, because a fish has already saved my life – answers Nasrudin.

The yogi is surprised: only a saint can have his life saved by a fish. He decides to teach everything he knows.

When he finishes, Nasrudin says:

- Now I have taught you everything, I would be proud to know how a fish saved your life.

- It is simple. I was almost dying of hunger when I caught it, and thanks to it I was able to survive three days.

 

[Gracie]

A wise woman who was traveling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream.
The next day she met another traveler who was hungry,
and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food.

The hungry traveler saw the precious stone and asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without hesitation.

The traveler left rejoicing in his good fortune.
He knew the stone was worth enough to give him
security for a lifetime. But, a few days later,
he came back to return the stone to the wise woman.

"I've been thinking," he said. "I know how valuable this stone is,
but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something
even more precious. Give me what you have within you that
enabled you to give me this stone.

" Sometimes it's not the wealth you have
but what's inside you that others need.

 

[Gracie]

A devoted meditator, after years of concentrating on a particular mantra, had attained enough insight to begin teaching. The student's humility was far from perfect, but the teachers at the monastery were not worried.

A few years of successful teaching left the meditator with no thoughts about learning from anyone; but upon hearing about a famous hermit living nearby, the opportunity was too exciting to be passed up.

The hermit lived alone on an island at the middle of a lake, so the meditator hired a man with a boat to row across to the island. The meditator was very respectful of the old hermit. As they shared some tea made with herbs the meditator asked him about his spiritual practice. The old man said he had no spiritual practice, except a mantra which he repeated all the time to himself. The meditator was pleased; the hermit was using the same mantra he used himself-- but when the hermit spoke the mantra aloud, the meditator was horrified!

"What's wrong?" asked the hermit.

"I don't know what to say. I'm afraid you've wasted your whole life! You are pronouncing the mantra incorrectly!"

"Oh dear that is terrible. How should I say it?"

The meditator gave the correct pronunciation, and the old hermit was very grateful, asking to be left alone so he could get started right away. On the way back across the lake the meditator, now confirmed as an accomplished teacher, was pondering the sad fate of the hermit.

"It's so fortunate that I came along. At least he will have a little time to practice correctly before he dies." Just then the meditator noticed that the boatman was looking quite shocked, and turned to see the hermit standing respectfully on the water, next to the boat.

 

[Gracie]

One day wisdom, food and wealth started on a journey. As they went along they came to a man sitting under a tree. The man said, "Where are you going?" They said, "We are hunting a place to live." The man said, "As for me, I want wealth to live with me." Wealth said, "You are a dumb man. If you had chosen wisdom, all three of us could have lived with you. But you have chosen me. This cannot be, because if I lived with you without wisdom, you could not have me long."

They started off again and they met another man. The man said, "Where are you going, young man?" They said, "We are hunting a place to live." The man said , "I believe that I would like to have food live with me." Food said, "You are not clever. If you had chosen a certain one of us, all of us would live with you. But look, you have chosen me. Do you think that you could keep me? No, you could not keep me. Let us go on."

Farther on they came to a man who was working. He said, "Where are you going today?" They said, "We want a place to live." The man said, "I would like for wisdom to live with me." Food said, "If you have chosen wisdom, then I will live with you, too. I know that you will be able to take good care of me." Wealth said, "If you have chosen wisdom, then I will live with you, too. I know that you will be able to take good care of me." All three lived with him because he made a good choice.

 

[Gracie]

A man spent the whole autumn sowing and preparing his garden. In the spring, the flowers opened, and he noticed a few dandelions that he had not planted and did not want spoiling his beautiful flower garden.

He pulled them up. But the seeds had already spread, and others grew. He tried to find a poison that would kill only dandelions. An expert told him that any poison would end up killing all the other flowers too. In despair, he sought help from a wise man.

‘Did you not want color, beauty and flowers?’ asked the wise man. ‘Along with the good things in all live things, there are always a few inconveniences.’

‘What should I do, then?

‘Nothing. They may not be the flowers you intended to have, but they are still part of the garden and beautiful in themselves.’

 

[Gracie]

It was a dense forest. All trees were straight and tall.

Their trunks were broad and shapely. But, there was one tree which was having a crooked, twisted and shapeless trunk.

The twisted trunk tree was sad. He thought "How ugly I am! All others are straight and shapely. I alone have crooked and twisted trunk.”

One day a wood-cutter came there. He looked around and said "I will cut all trees here, except that crooked tree that is all twisted. That is of no use to me".

He cut away all other trees.

Now, the twisted tree was happy for its crookedness.

MORAL : Be happy with what you are.

 

[Gracie]

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey.

He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement he quieted down.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.

As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a steppingstone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred - Forgive.

2. Free your mind from worries - Most never happen.

3. Live simply and appreciate what you have.

4. Give more.

5. Expect less

NOW --------

Enough of that crap . . .

The donkey later came back, and bit the shit out of the farmer who had tried to bury him. The gash from the bite got infected, and the farmer eventually died in agony from septic shock.

MORAL FROM TODAY'S LESSON:

When you do something wrong, and try to cover your ass, it always comes back to bite you.

 

[Gracie]

A woman was strolling through a shopping mall when she noticed a poster announcing a new flower shop. When she went in, she got a shock; she saw no vases, no arrangements, and it was God in person who stood behind the counter.

“You can ask for whatever you want,” said God.


“I want to be happy. I want peace, money, the capacity to be understood. I want to go to heaven when I die. And I want all this to be granted to my friends too.”

God opened a few pots that were on the shelf behind him, removed some grains from inside, and handed them to the woman.

“Here you have the seeds,” He said. “Begin to plant them, because here we don’t sell the fruits.”

 

[Gracie]

‘We have no doors in our monastery,’ Shanti said to the visitor, who had come in search of knowledge.

‘And what about troublesome people who come to disturb your peace?’

‘We ignore them, and they go away,’ said Shanti.

‘I am a learned man who has come in search of knowledge,’ insisted the foreigner. ‘But what do you do about stupid people? Do you just ignore them as well until they go away? Does that work?’

Shanti did not reply. The visitor repeated his question a few times, but seeing that he got no response, he decided to go and find a teacher who was more focused on what he was doing.

‘You see how well it works?’ said Shanti to himself, smiling.

 

[Gracie]

A monk called himself the ’Master of Silence’. He was actually a fraud and had no genuine understanding. To sell his humbug Zen, he had two eloquent attendant monks to answer questions for him; but he himself never uttered a word, as if to show his inscrutable ’silent Zen’.

One day, during the absence of his two attendants, a pilgrim monk came to him and asked: ”Master, what is the Buddha?” Not knowing what to do or to answer, in his confusion he could only look desperately round in all directions – east and west, here and there – for his missing mouthpieces.

The pilgrim monk, apparently satisfied, then asked him: ”What is the dharma, sir?” He could not answer this question either, so he first looked up at the ceiling and then down at the floor, calling for help from heaven and hell. Again the monk asked: ”What is Zen?” Now the Master of Silence could do nothing but close his eyes. Finally the monk asked: ”What is blessing?” In desperation. the Master of Silence helplessly spread his hands to the questioner as a sign of surrender.

But the pilgrim was very pleased and satisfied with this interview. He left the ’Master’ and set out again on his journey. On the road the pilgrim met the attendant monks on the way home, and began telling them enthusiastically what an enlightened being this Master of silence was.

He said: ”I asked him what Buddha is. He immediately turned his face to the east and then to the west, implying that human beings are always looking for Buddha here and there, but actually Buddha is not to be found either in the east or in the west. I then asked him what the dharma is. In answer to this question he looked up and down, meaning that the truth of dharma is a totality of equalness, there being no discrimination between high and low, while both purity and impurity can be found therein.

In answering my question as to what Zen was, he simply closed his eyes and said nothing. That was a clue to the famous saying: ’If one can close his eyes and sleep soundly in the deep recesses of the cloudy mountains he is a great monk indeed.’

Finally, in answering my last question, ’What is the blessing?’ he stretched out his arms and showed both his hands to me. This implied that he was stretching out his helping hands to guide sentient beings with his blessings. Oh, what an enlightened Zen Master! How profound is his teaching!”

When the attendant monks returned, the ’Master of Silence’ scolded them thus: ”Where have you been all this time? A while ago I was embarrassed to death, and almost ruined, by an inquisitive pilgrim.”

 

[Gracie]

At a small Moroccan village an imam was thinking about the only well of the entire region. Another Muslim approached him and asked:

“What is in there?”

“God is hidden in there.”

“God is hidden inside this well? That is a sin! What you may be seeing is an image left by the unfaithful!”

The imam asked him to get closer and lean out on the edge. Reflected on the water, he could see his own face.

“But that is me!”

“Right. Now you know where God is hidden.”

 

[Gracie]

A young man said to the abbot from the monastery, “I’d actually like to be a monk, but I haven’t learned anything in life. All my father taught me was to play chess, which does not lead to enlightenment. Apart from that, I learned that all games are a sin.

“They may be a sin but they can also be a diversion, and who knows, this monastery needs a little of both,” was the reply.

The abbot asked for a chessboard, sent for a monk, and told him to play with the young man.

But before the game began, he added, “Although we need diversion, we cannot allow everyone to play chess the whole time. So, we have the best players here; if our monk loses, he will leave the monastery and his place will be yours.”

The abbot was serious. The young man knew he was playing for his life, and broke into a cold sweat; the chessboard became the center of the world.

The monk began badly. The young man attacked, but then saw the saintly look on the other man’s face; at that moment, he began playing badly on purpose. After all, a monk is far more useful to the world.

Suddenly, the abbot threw the chessboard to the floor.

“You have learned far more than was taught you,” he said. “You concentrated yourself enough to win, were capable of fighting for your desire. Then, you had compassion, and were willing to make a sacrifice in the name of a noble cause. Welcome to the monastery, because you know how to balance discipline with compassion.”

 

[Gracie]

“Why do you live in the desert?”

“Because I can’t be what I want to be. When I begin to be myself, people treat me with a reverence that’s false. When I am true to my faith, then they begin to doubt. They all believe they are holier than I, but they pretend they are sinners, afraid to insult my solitude. They try all the time to show that they consider me a saint, and in this way they become emissaries of the devil, tempting me with Pride.”

“Your problem isn’t trying to be who you are, but accepting others the way they are. And acting in this way, it’s better to stay in the desert,” said the gentleman, walking off.

 

[Gracie]

For days the couple traveled almost without speaking. Finally they arrived in the middle of the forest, and found the wise man.

“My companion said almost nothing to me during the whole journey,” said the young man.

“A love without silence is a love without depth,” answered the wise man.

“But she didn’t even say that she loved me!”

“Some people always claim that. And we end up wondering if their words are true.”

The three of them sat down on a rock. The wise man pointed to the field of flowers all around them.

“Nature isn’t always repeating that God loves us. But we realize that through His flowers.”

 

[Gracie]

Buddha gathered his disciples and showed them a lotus flower.

“I want you to tell me something about what I hold in my hand.”

The first gave a whole treaty on the importance of flowers. The second composed a lovely poem about its petals. The third invented a parable using the flower as an example.

Now it was Mahakashyap’s turn. He came up to Buddha, smelt the flower, and caressed his face with one of the petals.

“This is a lotus flower,” said Mahakashyap. “Simple, like everything that comes from God. And beautiful, like everything that comes from God.”

“You were the only one who saw what I hold in my hand,” was Buddha’s comment.

 

[Gracie]

This is the story of a rose that longed for the company of the bees, but none would come to her.

Even so, the flower was still capable of dreaming. When she felt all alone, she would imagine a garden filled with bees that came to kiss her. And so she managed to resist until the next day, when she opened her petals again.

“Aren’t you tired?” someone must have asked her.

“No. I have to go on fighting,” answered the flower.

“Why?”

“Because if I don’t open up, I wither.”

 

[Gracie]

After four years of drought in the little village, the parish priest gathered everybody to make a pilgrimage to the mountain; there they would join in communal prayer to ask for rain.

In the middle of the group the priest noticed a boy all wrapped up in warm clothes and a blanket.

“Are you crazy?” he asked. “It hasn’t rained in this region for five years and you’ll die of the heat climbing the mountain!”

“I’ve got a cold, father. If we are going to pray to God for rain, can you imagine the climb back down? The downpour is going to be so heavy that it’s better to be prepared.”

At that very moment a loud roar was heard in the sky and the first drops began to fall. The faith of a boy was enough to work a miracle that many were praying for.

 

[Gracie]

When she was eleven years old, a little girl went to her mother to complain. “I can’t manage to have friends. They all stay away from me because I’m so jealous.”

Her mother was taking care of newly-born chickens, and the little girl held up one of them, which immediately tried to escape. The more the girl squeezed it in her hands, the more the chicken struggled.

Her mother said: “try holding it gently.”

The little girl obeyed her. She opened her hands and the chicken stopped struggling. She began to stroke it and the chicken cuddled up between her fingers.

“Human beings are like that too,” said her mother. “If you want to hold onto them by any means, they escape. But if you are kind to them, they will remain for ever by your side.”

 

[Gracie]

Nasrudin appeared at court wearing a magnificent turban and asking for money for charity.

‘You come here asking for money, yet you are wearing an extremely expensive turban on your head. How much did that extraordinary thing cost?’ asked the sultan.

‘Five hundred gold coins,’ replied the wise Sufi.

The minister muttered: ‘That’s impossible. No turban could cost such a fortune.’

Nasrudin insisted:

‘I did not come here only to beg, I also came to do business. I paid all that money for the turban because I knew that, in all the world, only a sultan would be capable of buying it for six hundred gold coins, so that I could give the surplus to the poor.’

The sultan was flattered and paid what Nasrudin asked. On the way out, the wise man said to the minister:

‘You may know the value of a turban, but I know how far a man’s vanity can take him.’