Zen master story: The smoking Zen master, puffed his way to enlightenment
By emptychair
@innertalks (23744)
Australia
February 7, 2021 12:33am CST
The old Zen master, smoking Joe Everydilk, started smoking at a very early age.
He did make Zen master status, but he always thought that his smoking should have stopped him from being given this title, as he knew that he was addicted to smoking, in both his mind, and body too.
As he lay dying, he had a puff on what would be his last cigarette, then he said,
"The zen moment was always clouded by smoke for me, but l do see smoke more clearly now in my death."
"God smokes a smokescreen, over us all too."
"To see through this fully, we must die."
"I am dying now."
"Goodbye friends, goodbye."
A student looked at the dead master, and said.
"Smoke clouded his vision, until his last breath, when which his vision was clear then, despite the smoke, because of his coming death."
"Death levels the playing field for us all."
"Death makes Zen masters of us all."
(Photo Credit: The photo used in this article was sourced from the free media site, pixabay.com")
Afterword:
A bad habit is hard to kick.
If we take the word, "habit", and remove the "h", for habit, we still have "a bit" left.
Then, if we remove the "a", still there is that "bit" left too.
Finally, if we remove even the "b", "it", the bad habit is still there.
We need to remove the "I" from our bad habit, and then finally we have its measure to a, "t".
That's why the smoking habit can be hard to kick, even for a Zen master.
4 people like this
2 responses
@Shiva49 (28394)
• Singapore
7 Feb 21
Our vision here is clouded by our mind jumping like a monkey from one branch to another.
The Zen master made no effort to kick his bad habit but in the end got real enlightenment beyond the smokescreen.
Yes, a bad habit like smoking, drinking, is tough to eradicate and leaves a lasting trace in our system.
It is tough indeed for us to stay clear of the smokescreen created by god.
He wants to keep us occupied than serve it on a silver plate.
When one door shuts tight, then another opens could be what is intended.
2 people like this
@arunima25 (93194)
• Bangalore, India
7 Feb 21
Smoking is bad. People know it but still fall for it and become addicted. It's very tough to quit it later. I have seen that if it has to be quit, it has to be in sudden cold way.
2 people like this
@innertalks (23744)
• Australia
7 Feb 21
My old father-in-law finally quit after more than 60 years of heavy smoking.
But, he had to be scared, by his health issues to do it. He was short of breath, had bronchitis, and was full of phlegm too. The doctor told him, he would soon die, if he kept on smoking.
Three years later, now, his health is now much better, so recovery is even possible, at such an advanced age, but only if you quit.
He quit cold-turkey, as they say too, in a cold sudden way, and bully for him, he has not returned to the habit either.
@arunima25 (93194)
• Bangalore, India
7 Feb 21
@innertalks That's good. But it was already too late as the habit had taken a good toll on his well being.
My husband quit it in a cold turkey way. He fell for it in college days to impress peers and soon was a chain smoker. After 8 years in 2000, he quit it in a cold turkey way and has not touched it in last 20 years.
2 people like this
@innertalks (23744)
• Australia
7 Feb 21
@arunima25 Yes, your husband, has a good chance of healing completely, whereas, as you said, for my father-in-law, it is too late for him to recover fully. He will always have a cough, weakness of the lungs, and excess phlegm, plus a wheeze, as well, at times.
At least, though, he has stopped, it from getting even worse. Healing can only start, when we quit fully, not when we only play around with quitting, quitting, and then restarting again.
Mark Twain, the American writer, (1835 to 1910) made this point rather funnily, with these types of comments, that he is often quoted for now:
"Giving up smoking is easy… I've done it hundreds of times” or “Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I've done it thousands of times.”
