Short Story: Zen Masters. The first female Zen master

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Subtitle: The myth of life. The Zen master, Yudah Gridest, was well known for his pithy and straightforward answers to any and all questions that were put to him by his students, and by passing travellers, or tourists, who stopped by his temple, and his nearby attached monastery. He had a unique way of turning the question into its own answer, and so you felt something had been extracted from you, and that you had dug deep, and found the answer that you needed the most now, yourself. One hot summer day a lady called into the monastery inquiring why all the disciples were men. She wanted to join the monastery. Yudah said to her in his truest of pithy replies, "And so, you are a man are you?" This made the lady, whose name was Ernestra, think a minute before she replied and so say to Yudah, "Well no, of course not, but why should that bar me from your monastery?" Yudah smiled, and said, "No, it never has barred anyone. You are welcome here." So she became the first ever woman monk, and disciple, of Yudah. But for many years she pondered his first remark to her, and which had been, "And so, you are a man are you?" After 5 years faithfully fulfilling her role in the monastery, she came to Yudah, and she said to him directly, "Why did you ask me if I was a man, when I first arrived here. Can't you see the truth of what I am?" Yudah smiled his toothless smile and whispered quietly to her, "And now, you are a woman are you?" And, of course, he had always seen the truth of who she was, and not what she was, which had been of course quite obvious from her way of dress, and her long flowing hair. She had looked resplendent in her silken kimono, and had been so proud of her traditional Japanese way of dressing when she had first arrived those 5 long years ago. No, Yudah just so much wanted her to be able to see this also for herself. To look inside of herself for who she was rather than to only look on her outside at what she was. So, she went away and pondered again some more, and so another 5 years went by. And again she came into Yudah's main private rooms, at the front of the monastery, and she said to him this time: "What did you mean, my good master?" "And now, I am a women, I have always been a woman, haven't I?" He looked at her quizzingly, and smiled once more in his unique questioning way, "And now, are you man, or woman, or what are you now, my dear?" he asked looking at her to the depths of her soul. His eyes pierced deeply past who she had always thought that she was, and into who she really was. She felt an immediate release and connection to him now, and the start of a connection to something far greater. How strange she felt as a tingling feeling began to start, and then to explode inside her heart. She looked at him and replied instantly, knowingly now. "Of course, I am neither man, nor women. I am a free soul, and here to realise Zen Buddhahood," she said. He smiled, and looked back at her now, as he then quietly walked away. His eyes pierced her very heart again, and as he left the gate of this small vestibule, he just offered this final remark to her now. "Good, good," he said, "Another ten years." She walked out, following him now, when suddenly the final series of fireworks, and explosions, went off inside her, and as it hit her she was instantaneously transformed, and enlightened. She was indeed Buddha now already as soon as she fully accepted this much, and knew it totally in her heart. And, it had always been so. Ernestra went on to become the first female head monk in this all male Japanese monastery, after having already been its first female monk admitted for the first time in it's 300 years of continuous operation. And so, she became known throughout the years for her own pithy replies to travellers and her own students, and that usually all started with this remark, "So what are you, a man, or woman?" that she always first made to everyone, no matter who it was that had addressed her. She had even one day asked this to the visiting Emperor of Japan. But he had heard of this before and had had his reply ready. He had just said, "For now I fill the role of your Emperor, but I too am the same as you." And it was a good reply perhaps worthy of a real Emperor. She had just replied to him in kind, "So may I go with you, as you go with me. For indeed we are made from the same fabric, and grow together as part of the same cloth. Even though the cut might appear different, you have spoken truly my friend, we are one and the same." Ernestra Diason was the greatest female Zen master of her era, and her wisdom still shines for many to see through the years since her passing. Here's one, or two, of her many recorded quotes. "The wrath of man to be felt by a woman is only the love of a woman to be felt by the man." and "Love goes first, and anger trips over her heels. Anger goes first, and without love makes you feel her heels" "Your enlightenment is equal to your ability to love." Photo Credit: The photo used in this article was sourced from the free media site, pixabay.com The first female Zen master was as real as any master had ever been.