Monday, June 29, 2009

Just Two Words

There once was a monastery that was very strict. Following a vow of silence, no one was allowed to speak at all. But there was one exception to this rule. Every ten years, the monks were permitted to speak just two words. After spending his first ten years at the monastery, one monk went to the head monk. "It has been ten years," said the head monk. "What are the two words you would like to speak?"
"Bed... hard..." said the monk.
"I see," replied the head monk.
Ten years later, the monk returned to the head monk's office. "It has been ten more years," said the head monk. "What are the two words you would like to speak?"
"Food... stinks..." said the monk.
"I see," replied the head monk.
Yet another ten years passed and the monk once again met with the head monk who asked, "What are your two words now, after these ten years?"
"I... quit!" said the monk.
"Well, I can see why," replied the head monk. "All you ever do is complain."

My Thoughts: The rule of monastery was to follow silence. Silence was the only powerful language which is used by monks to communicate the TRUTH. Rule of monastery was not only to maintain external silence. It was for internal silence too....i.e., your thoughts must be still...without any thoughts (see A Cup Of Tea for more understanding on this), you must only listen. Young monk was not aware of this state of being silent internally. His thoughts were preoccupied with lot of discomforts he felt. That was why he was continuously complaining. He only followed the external silence rule but did not realize that it was to be followed internally too.

Obedience

The master Bankei's talks were attended not only by Zen students but by persons of all ranks and sects. He never quoted sutras nor indulged in scholastic dissertations. Instead, his words were spoken directly from his heart to the hearts of his listeners.
His large audiences angered a priest of the Nichiren sect because the adherents had left to hear about Zen. The self-centered Nichiren priest came to the temple, determined to debate with Bankei.
"Hey, Zen teacher!" he called out. "Wait a minute. Whoever respects you will obey what you say, but a man like myself does not respect you. Can you make me obey you?"
"Come up beside me and I will show you," said Bankei.
Proudly the priest pushed his way through the crowd to the teacher.
Bankei smiled. "Come over to my left side."
The priest obeyed.
"No," said Bankei, "we may talk better if you are on the right side. Step over here."
The priest proudly stepped over to the right
"You see," observed Bankei, "you are obeying me and I think you are a very gentle person. Now sit down and listen."

My Thoughts: Enlightened one will never expect respect from you. This is because they are not driven by external things. They rely on their internals. You can never overcome truth. This is why you can never overcome enlightened one's words.

I also get reminded of the Sanskrit word "Upanishad" which means "Sit near by", i.e., sit near by the teacher to start listening him. "Upanishad" is a collection of teachings. By saying 'sit nearby' I think the monk has considered the priest as his disciple.

A Cup of Tea

Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.
Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor's cup full, and then kept on pouring.
The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. "It is overfull. No more will go in!"
"Like this cup," Nan-in said, "you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?"

My thoughts: A person can become a good disciple only when he observes his master's thoughts. He must in take his master's thoughts completely. For this, he must empty his own thoughts first. Easy to say..but emptying one's thought is an evolving process...takes a lot of time. This is why a master waits patiently for his disciple to first prepare himself. Its very hard to become a disciple for Zen monk. Please see Just Two Words to understand more on what I meant.

Zen Thoughts

Zen from buddism focuses on meditation. Zen monks clearly belive that truth cannot be expressed completely through language. Language can only communicate your thoughts but not your fealings or those that you realize. Truth is not just a thought it is realizing the reality. Yes...all languages are handicapped...they cannot communicate COMPLETE truth. This is why any Zen monk do not mostly preach, instead they make them think and act. According to them, the best language to communicate the truth is silence.

There are a lot of Zen stories. When you read it for first time, it may look like a joke, incomplete story or sometimes even you may feel an irrelevant one. Once you start thinking on it, you may start understanding that it has something great behind it. Each who read this story interpret it in different way. Zen stories are for enlightenment. Any interpretation that makes you enlightened is the right one.