zen

Tagged Discussions

emptychair @innertalks (23739) • Australia 10 Jun

[i]The new Zen Master to the monastery, who had become the new master, after the old Zen Master, the last past master had died, was having a repeating series of dreams, in which he would leave the interior of the monastery, fly to...

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2 people

Zen story: The questioning monk who wanted secrets revealed to him

emptychair @innertalks (23739) • Australia 3 Jun

A student monk asked his old Zen master to tell him the secrets of Zen, that he had never shared with his students. The old man smiled, and replied, [b]"Nobody knows the secrets of Zen in their minds, not even...

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3 people

Zen story: For meditation to be real, it must be linked to life

emptychair @innertalks (23739) • Australia 31 May

The Zen master would rise each morning, walk outside bare footed, hug a tree, then come back inside the meditation room, and sit for an hour in meditation. He did this for many years, and it became like a koan to his...

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3 people

Zen story: the koan of silence

emptychair @innertalks (23739) • Australia 20 May

The Zen master hummed softly to himself, and nobody knew what was on his mind to cause him to hum like that. He then said, "Humming is a koan for you, what do you think it means? Nobody could answer him satisfactorily,...

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1 person

Zen story: The feather ruffling Zen master

emptychair @innertalks (23739) • Australia 6 Apr

The old Zen master, Enrico Zerboski, had become different in his teachings to other Zen masters, over the many years, while he had been the head master, at the Ryoko monastery. He would often debunk many of the long held...

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3 people

A zen tale about being lost in life

emptychair @innertalks (23739) • Australia 26 Mar

[i]The old Zen master had found himself a long time ago, when he was first enlightened, but now, inexplicably so, he felt lost, not to himself, but to life itself. He could see no point in him being in life, as it all felt like a...

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3 people

A zen story about miserliness, and generosity

emptychair @innertalks (23739) • Australia 22 Mar

The old Zen master was always generous in spirit, but not only that, he was generous in all other manor of life too. If a beggar came to his monastery, he was given a meal, clean clothes, and a stipend, to purchase...

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3 people

Zen tale: A Zen master knows far more that what he lets on that he knows

emptychair @innertalks (23739) • Australia 14 Mar

The old Zen master was coughing up blood, and he told his students that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer. He said to them, that nevertheless, I will stay in this body as long as God requires me to do so, but it does...

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3 people

Zen story: The bell rang twice

emptychair @innertalks (23739) • Australia 5 Mar

Every morning, in the Zen monastery, the bell would ring twice. Nothing was ever said about why this was being done, but the students thought that it was a call for them to get up for the day, and to do their morning...

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4 people

Zen short story: Allow truth to remain permanently in you. Never discard truth

emptychair @innertalks (23739) • Australia 1 Mar

The Zen monastery had both cherry trees, and cherry blossom trees, in its courtyard. Cherry blossom trees are ornamental, and cherry trees produce fruit. Reaching up to grab a branch of the vine, the Zen master picked a...

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3 people

Short story: The Zen master knew when to call it a day, and not force things against his own soul's wishes for him, and his life

emptychair @innertalks (23739) • Australia 22 Feb

The old Zen master had been struggling with the decision of whether he should keep being the head monk at his monastery, as he was getting old now, and to his annoyance, his memory was not what it was anymore. He knew that...

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1 person

Zen story: The koan of the throne

emptychair @innertalks (23739) • Australia 19 Jan

The old Zen master had died, and he went up to Heaven, where the doorkeeper there, gave him a koan to solve, before he could get in. The doorkeeper said to him, "You solved many an Earthly koan while alive, but can you...

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4 people

Zen tale: What is a Zen koan?

emptychair @innertalks (23739) • Australia 11 Jan

The old Zen master had been asked to create a new koan, for the 50th anniversary of his holding the mastership, there at his monastery. He simply said quickly, without thinking about it. "When is a koan a koan? and...

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3 people

Short story: A new year's resolution refreshes our lifeview

emptychair @innertalks (23739) • Australia 29 Dec

The old Zen master had been asked, if being old like he was, whether he would still make any new year's resolutions, in the new year, this coming year. The old Zen master smiled widely, as he replied: [i]"Well to grow...

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7 people

Short story: The old Zen master's gift

emptychair @innertalks (23739) • Australia 23 Dec

The old Zen master had been noticed to have been keeping a diary for over 40 years, from when he had become the new Zen master at this monastery. He carried it everywhere with him, and was often seen making an entry into...

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2 people

Zen story: The Zen master describes enlightenment to be like a tree

emptychair @innertalks (23739) • Australia 17 Dec

The old Zen master was asked, by a visitor to his monastery. "What practical value is there in enlightenment? The old master smiled widely, and replied. [b]"An old tree lives on in my garden. Is there such a tree in your...

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3 people

Zen story: Stop carrying rocks in your head, but carrying a stone in your pocket, is ok

emptychair @innertalks (23739) • Australia 10 Dec

The old Zen master posed this simple question to his students: "When is a stone a rock?" to test their understanding of the Zen mind. And no one, of course, knew his answer, so the master replied, "When the...

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2 people

Zen story: The old Zen master's repeating dreams were linked to more than just to him

emptychair @innertalks (23739) • Australia 1 Dec

The old Zen master had been having a series of repeating dreams, over the last month, where he had found himself in a second-hand bookshop, looking for a diary book, that he had once had. This diary book had been given to...

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5 people

Short story: When is a cold not a cold? When you are a Zen master

emptychair @innertalks (23739) • Australia 6 Sep

The Zen master coughed loudly, as it appeared that he had a cold, but when his student asked him if he did have a cold, the Zen master had replied, "Zen masters do not get colds." The student thought hard, and...

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5 people

Zen story: The Zen master's dream

emptychair @innertalks (23739) • Australia 1 Sep

The old Zen master, Sergeff Kerploski, was having the same dream every night. A large brown bear was chasing after him in his dream, but it never did catch him. The master thought this might literally mean that his life...

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5 people