Zen story: The newly appointed Zen master was nervous until his old master told him that he used to be nervous too
By emptychair
@innertalks (23745)
Australia
September 28, 2020 7:36pm CST
The new Zen master, Gosheho Zerpoche, was nervous about his first talk to his students.
The old master had recently died, and he had appointed, Gosheho Zerpoche, as his successor here, in the monastery, just before he did die.
Gosheho thought to himself,
"but l am now a Zen master. I should not be nervous, should l?"
Then, he looked at himself in the mirror.
He saw his old master in there, looking back at him.
"I was also nervous, when l gave my first discourse here too, my friend."
"Nervousness is of the mind, picking up signals from your body."
"Listen to your heart, and speak from there, and let your mind solve its own problems."
"Koans achieve this too, by distracting the mind, to let the truth jump out of your heart."
"The koan of nervousness is this:"
"Which part of you is the least nervous; talk from a heart of peace, and see the truth that the least nervous is then also the most nervous too; all such nervous states are simply states of the mind, not of the heart."
Then he looked again, and all he saw in the mirror then, was himself.
Later, Gosheho looked out at nature, in the stunningly beautiful grounds of his monastery.
"Nature is never nervous with itself,"
he thought to himself,
"So, why should I be either?"
"I will take my master's advice, and talk to them from my heart, as which, nature always does to us too."
Photo Credit: The photo used in this article was sourced from the free media site, pixabay.com
Gosheho looked out at nature. Nature was never nervous with itself.
4 people like this
4 responses
@erictsuma (9725)
• Mombasa, Kenya
29 Sep 20
It is very inspiring, thank you for sharing my friend.
3 people like this
@innertalks (23745)
• Australia
29 Sep 20
Thanks. I like to write these types of short stories.
2 people like this
@RasmaSandra (98127)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
29 Sep 20
There is another saying that one must be comfortable in the packaging he or she comes in. Nature is always comfortable in its own packaging and people should be too. I f you can accept yourself then others will accept you too.
3 people like this
@innertalks (23745)
• Australia
29 Sep 20
Yes, I agree with that, and if we can love ourselves, we are then able to better love others too.
Love brings forth self-worth, and self-acceptance, because self-acceptance means that we see ourselves as being worthy of God's love, our own love, and other's love too.
@innertalks (23745)
• Australia
29 Sep 20
Yes, or replace it with something else instead, like here, talking from the heart, moves us a step away from the nervousness, being held in our mind.
I have done this myself when I give a speech.
We can almost become another person, as what we say seems to pour out of us the right way then too, when we allow our heart, to speak for us, without reservations.
(Having made some notes, preparing our talk beforehand, also helps of course too...lol...)
1 person likes this
@Shiva49 (28397)
• Singapore
29 Sep 20
To be natural is the way to get rid of any nervousness.
We are all the same and our hearts and souls are interconnected.
Feeling separate from the rest feeds on uncertainty and nervousness.
The new Zen master knew he has to be himself than try to fill in the shoes of the previous master.
Nature is never the same and changes by the minute giving us hints that we too need to feel comfortable within our skin.
1 person likes this
@innertalks (23745)
• Australia
29 Sep 20
Yes, nature is never nervous of changing.
But, it does remind me of an old joke:
What did the road say to the footpath?
Did you see the nature strip?
Maybe the footpath looked the other way, and was too nervous to see the nature strip!
Yes, it is always better to be our own true selves, and not a copycat of someone else, even if they were an esteemed past master.
1 person likes this
@innertalks (23745)
• Australia
29 Sep 20
@Shiva49 Further than the fingerprint, I would say that each soul is uniquely created too with a Godprint in them, which they should then develop inside of themselves, to paint the picture that this print is meant to be, in its fullness of colour, and animation.
We should place our picture in God's gallery, so that all can benefit from the viewing too.
@Shiva49 (28397)
• Singapore
30 Sep 20
@innertalks Yes, I would say we need to find a niche identity, place, with our digging deep into our reserves of consciousness. Then our creator will feel fulfilled too in his own way, of course.
Then that lifestyle will also enrich our path and benefit others too - siva
1 person likes this
