Short Story: The Zen master picks his successor
By emptychair
@innertalks (23742)
Australia
November 29, 2020 4:09am CST
The old Zen master, Gorith Verskojy, was getting very old.
He said to his students,
"I will die soon, and none of you is yet ready to take over my mantle here as the head of this monastery."
"You have all been receiving my teachings in ordinary ways. They must be received in an extraordinary way to change you."
Love is both ordinary and extraordinary, and to understand love, you must see, and understand, both parts of love.
See its simpleness first, but do not overlook its deep complexity of truth either.
Deepness, dipped into shallowness, shocks, stretches, and brings you to greater enlightened levels of consciousness.
Love lives in you then, complexidly simply, as all things are, when you think about them.
Simple in form, complex in putting togetherness.
The cook then said, from the kitchen, where he had overheard the talk from.
"That's how I cook, simple ingredients, complex recipes, for simple tastes, with complex aromas."
"Exactly,"
said the old master.
"You will be the new master here after me."
Photo Credit: The photo used in this article was sourced from the free media site, pixabay.com
The Zen master wanted knowing to be deep enough to reach the heart.
Head knowledge alone is always shallow, without the attached deepness of the heart.
4 people like this
4 responses
@DocAndersen (54399)
• United States
30 Nov 20
it is the blend of heard and heart to understand but to also expand.
2 people like this
@innertalks (23742)
• Australia
30 Nov 20
Yes, a combination works best, without putting any part in charge; all inputs should be welcomed
The head of our heart is God, but the heart of our head, is, or should be, our soul, not our ego-self.
@innertalks (23742)
• Australia
30 Nov 20
@DocAndersen True, in some senses, but there is a technique where you stare into a mirror, and you can see your real self looking back at you then too.
It's sort of like, when we look deep into another person's eyes, we can see their soul.
We can do the same thing with our own selves too.
@DocAndersen (54399)
• United States
30 Nov 20
@innertalks ego is easier to find in the mirror
2 people like this
@innertalks (23742)
• Australia
29 Nov 20
Yes, I think that God wants us to be heart people too, rather than just head people, as the many Bible stories about the Pharisees, and their appliance, of their laws, reveals too.
@just4him (323168)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
1 Dec 20
@innertalks That's true. It's one thing to know God, it's another to accept Him and have Him work in your heart.
2 people like this
@innertalks (23742)
• Australia
1 Dec 20
@just4him Yes, when he works for us in our heart, it is a sign that we are loving God with our hearts too, I think too.
2 people like this
@Shiva49 (28390)
• Singapore
29 Nov 20
We tend to lead shallow lives but every experience has a deeper connotation and deserves some reflection.
I tend to reflect on those that are not routine and try to come to a deeper understanding of them.
They are worth remembering too for the lessons inherent in them.
The Zen master got the hint from the cook that he is a deep thinker than the rest of his followers who seem superficial in their knowledge and awareness.
1 person likes this
@innertalks (23742)
• Australia
29 Nov 20
Yes, thanks siva. Well said.
Of course, it might have been that the old Zen master, wanted some really nice meals as his last meals in that monastery too, and with a promotion like that, the cook will be doing his very best for the old Master, until his time comes too.
We hope that such a Zen master is not unaltruistic like that though!
1 person likes this
@innertalks (23742)
• Australia
30 Nov 20
@Shiva49 And if he adds a special ingredient to do away with him quicker, that would prove that he is an imposter then too.
Cooks are usually very aware, and perceptive people, in such an environment, and so if the master said he is ready, I would expect that he would indeed be so.
1 person likes this
