The Zen master Hakuin was praised by his neighbours as one living a pure life. A beautiful Japanese girl whose parents owned a food store lived near him. Suddenly, without any warning, her parents discovered she was with child. This made her parents angry. She would not confess who the man was, but after much harassment at last named Hakuin. In great anger the parent went to the master. “Is that so?” was all he would say. After the child was born it was brought to Hakuin. By this time he had lost his reputation, which did not trouble him, but he took very good care of the child. He obtained milk from his neighbours and everything else he needed. A year later the girl-mother could stand it no longer. She told her parents the truth – the real father of the child was a young man who worked in the fishmarket. The mother and father of the girl at once went to Hakuin to ask forgiveness, to apologize at length, and to get the child back. Hakuin was willing. In yielding the child, all he said was: “Is that so?”

Finding a Diamond on a Muddy Road

Gudo was the emperor’s teacher of his time. Nevertheless, he used to travel alone as a wandering mendicant. Once when he was on his way to Edo, the cultural and political center of the shogunate, he approached a little village named Takenaka. It was evening and a heavy rain was falling. Gudo was thoroughly wet. His straw sandals were in pieces. At a farmhouse near the village he noticed four or five pairs of sandals in the window and decided to buy some dry ones.

The woman who offered him the sandals, seeing how wet he was, invited him in to remain for the night in her home. Gudo accepted, thanking her. He entered and recited a sutra before the family shrine. He was then introduced to the women’s mother, and to her children. Observing that the entire family was depressed, Gudo asked what was wrong.

“My husband is a gambler and a drunkard,” the housewife told him. “When he happens to win he drinks and becomes abusive. When he loses he borrows money from others. Sometimes when he becomes thoroughly drunk he does not come home at all. What can I do?”

“I will help him,” said Gudo. “Here is some money. Get me a gallon of fine wine and something good to eat. Then you may retire. I will meditate before the shrine.”

When the man of the house returned about midnight, quite drunk, he bellowed: “Hey, wife, I am home. Have you something for me to eat?”

“I have something for you,” said Gudo. “I happened to be caught in the rain and your wife kindly asked me to remain here for the night. In return I have bought some wine and fish, so you might as well have them.”

The man was delighted. He drank the wine at once and laid himself down on the floor. Gudo sat in meditation beside him.

In the morning when the husband awoke he had forgotten about the previous night. “Who are you? Where do you come from?” he asked Gudo, who was still meditating.

“I am Gudo of Kyoto and I am going on to Edo,” replied the Zen master.

The man was utterly ashamed. He apologized profusely to the teacher of his emperor.

Gudo smiled. “Everything in this life is impermanent,” he explained. “Life is very brief. If you keep on gambling and drinking, you will have no time left to accomplish anything else, and you will cause your family to suffer too.”

The perception of the husband awoke as if from a dream. “You are right,” he declared. “How can I ever repay you for this wonderful teaching! Let me see you off and carry your things a little way.”

“If you wish,” assented Gudo.

The two started out. After they had gone three miles Gudo told him to return. “Just another five miles,” he begged Gudo. They continued on.

“You may return now,” suggested Gudo.

“After another ten miles,” the man replied.

“Return now,” said Gudo, when the ten miles had been passed.

“I am going to follow you all the rest of my life,” declared the man.

Modern Zen teachings in Japan spring from the lineage of a famous master who was the successor of Gudo. His name was Mu-nan, the man who never turned back.

Sorry folks, I got swamped on Friday and didn’t get out this last part of the Zen section. Tomorrow will start the Q&A messages until I run out of good questions. If you have a question, TODAY is an excellent time to ask. Just send them to dailybuddhism@gmail.com.

Our first Koan:

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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?”

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And there is the core of “zazen” right there. You need to empty your mind of the clutter of this world. Not necessarily just your day-to-day business and life-worries, but your preconceptions about the universe and life itself. Things are rarely what they seem at first, worries about the past or future have no value, and are in fact bad for you. Just clear your mind and “be here, now.”

First, a quick notice: Next week I am going to spend the week answering your questions here. I have several good ones that I’ve been holding onto, and will answer them for all to see. If you have a question about something we’ve already covered, post it on the www.dailybuddhism.com site. You no longer need to register there to post questions. Or send me your question(s) by email at dailybuddhism@gmail.com. Please DON’T reply to the mailing list messages; the mail-list is automated and I don’t always see replies. If you have heard something that differs from what I have said or you disagree with me on some point, I especially want to hear about it!

Zen, Part Two

One day the Buddha gathered together hundreds of his most promising followers around him for a talk. They all settled in and waited for the Master to speak. He just sat there with a smile on his face. He sat there and sat there. Finally, he picked up a flower and held it up, silently. One of his followers, and only one, looked at that flower and gained enlightenment right there on the spot.

As we discuss Zen in the future, various old stories will come up. These stories are called koans– tales or ideas that when meditated upon and considered may lead to enlightenment. Some of these stories sound very wise, others will make no sense whatsoever. As we briefly discussed yesterday, the Master comes to know the student very well, and will assign koans to the student that he feels will bring about Enlightenment. In the story above, Buddha knew that one student would understand the meaning of the flower, but the lesson didn’t help the others at all. A particular koan may have been made up by a specific Master for a specific student, and led to that student’s enlightenment, but the same koan may sound just plain asinine to you; everyone is different. The important thing to know is that these koans worked for someone at some point in the past, which is why they were written down. So yes, even the stupid-sounding ones helped someone, and could help you as well if you’re lucky.

You see, the thing about Zen is that it’s all very intuitive and individual. Zen Buddhists don’t spend a great amount of time studying Buddhist scriptures. They prefer to spend their time meditating or experiencing life. For a Zen monk, working in the garden is as productive as meditation. Going about one’s life with right mindfulness is important.