Zen story: The nodding rock
@innertalks (22693)
Australia
May 5, 2025 6:59pm CST
The Zen master was walking along a road, when he tripped on a small rock, placed there by someone for some reason, or another.
He said to the rock:
"Your smallness creates your bigness, and even the big like me can fall over the small like you."
And he seemed to hear this reply come into himself from somewhere, maybe from the rock?
"Smallness sometimes carries greatness within it too."
Then, he further mused over these other thoughts, to himself too.
"Pay more attention to small things, and you will not fall over the big things then either. Love to work with small things, and a greater love will develop in you then for big things too."
The Zen master, inspired by his own thoughts, then walked back to his monastery, and gave this koan to his students to work on.
"I have been talking to a rock. Did it answer me back?"
One student answered quickly,
"Yes, it saw the rocks in your head, so answered you in kind."
Another student said:
"Rocks do not even nod in reply."
The Zen master was pleased with both answers, and he said:
"Everything is nodding to you, even before you say anything to it. Learn from the nods of nature. Do not nod off to nature, nor nod off to yourself too. Even a rock can point the way to you."
Photo Credit: The photo used in this article was sourced from the free media site, pixabay.com
A big rock on our path is obvious, but try to see the small rocks too.
2 people like this
2 responses
@innertalks (22693)
• Australia
6 May
Yes, the old saying that a stitch in time saves nine shows us, that when we take care of the little things first, they then do not develop into bigger things.
We can make a small mistake that might then snowball into an even larger mistake, if we do not address the small issue promptly enough.
@Shiva49 (27172)
• Singapore
6 May
Everything has purpose to its existence though we are taken in by the size or outward beauty.
I think of ‘A chain is only as strong as its weakest link’.
I have always liked to work in the background be it at the workplace or at a gathering.
I look out for those trying to find a footing and then lend my hand when others ignore them.
We can connect when we try to get into the right frequency of all items in nature rather than walk with head held high in a mocking manner that others are there to serve us.
Once we kick our buckets, we need to coexist in a tighter embrace as we may eventually become an "insignificant" part of nature.
So better to start the process here and now!
1 person likes this
@innertalks (22693)
• Australia
6 May
Well, said, siva.
We might even say that God didn't create anything without a purpose for its being itself, and so when we live this purpose, we are living our lives on purpose for God.
Working behind the scenes is far better than living a life of outer pomp, wanting accolades for all that we do.
We should remain humble servants of life, rather than trying to become greedy exploiters of life, instead.
When we kick over our buckets, we want to be sure that the contents do not then come back to bite us, and poison us in the next life too. What we do here counts, and we will be judged for it later.
@innertalks (22693)
• Australia
7 May
@Shiva49 I have heard it said that God didn't make any duplicates, and each part of creation has its own role, part, and purpose, to play in his creation.
We should learn from each other, and from every other part, as all are connected too, and the play only goes on fully, when all players are occupied in the play, playing their assigned role, or part in life, or in God's play.
@Shiva49 (27172)
• Singapore
7 May
@innertalks Thanks Steve, belief in reincarnation means we can even be born as other species too.
If we come back as a crocodile, pig, or a dog, we have to be one among them. We may never know we were humans earlier.
That means we just play our roles whatever we happen to be.
At the end of the day, we play our roles without sticking out like a sore thumb. Even in our daily life we have to assume different roles with different people, children, parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts at the same time and as the Bard said it eloquently "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players.".
We should embrace variety as more of it the merrier though not go against accepted norms of societal harmony..
1 person likes this
