Zen story: The Zen master's dream
By emptychair
@innertalks (23250)
Australia
September 1, 2025 11:08pm CST
The old Zen master, Sergeff Kerploski, was having the same dream every night. A large brown bear was chasing after him in his dream, but it never did catch him.
The master thought this might literally mean that his life had become rather hard, and overbearing, to him lately.
He had lost some of his hearing power, and not being able to hear properly, did annoy him a bit, as he could not hear fully the answers of his students, to the koans, that he gave them.
In fact, he was now asking them to give him their written answers to his questions.
A bear is a very strong animal, and it appearing in his dreams, also made the master think that he was no longer the same man of strength, that he once was too.
He was still connected to God, though, and the bear was symbolising this by its connection to oldness, and newness, as indicated by its yearly hibernation.
The Zen master needed to take a rest from running, and seek connection to the strength still in him, instead of running away with the thought, that he had lost much of his strength now.
The old master used his dream to construct a new koan for his students then:
It went like this:
"If a bear chases you, what is chasing it?"
None of his students could come up with an answer, and so the old master had to eventually answer his koan himself.
His answer was as simple, as it was profound.
"Life chases no one, unless you chase it."
and so we must reach up to God, not down to our self.
Photo Credit: The photo used in this article was sourced from the free media site, pixabay.com
A bear symbolises strength, and connection to strength.
5 people like this
4 responses
@MarieCoyle (49836)
•
2 Sep
@innertalks
That's a good thing. Sometimes, I do the same thing.
3 people like this
@innertalks (23250)
• Australia
2 Sep
Thanks.
Yes, nothing much would chase a bear, as it might just turn around, and start chasing it.
Yes, perhaps bears enjoy the chase.
@Shiva49 (27568)
• Singapore
2 Sep
For me, some dreams make no connection to my life here and I just dismiss them as carry-overs of some experiences from, maybe, previous lives if I really had them.
Bears and such chase their prey but the old Zen master should have been well protected from them.
Yes, bears and their long hibernation might have led the Zen master to surmise the hidden meaning in his repetitive dreams that he finally laid to rest.
1 person likes this
@innertalks (23250)
• Australia
2 Sep
Old age, and its troubles, can creep into the lives of even Zen masters, and it was good that the Zen master could interpret his dream, that was showing him that old age should not be pushed aside, but more embraced, and utilised, at each moment, in the best way we can do so, without running away from it, and hiding ourselves from the changes being made to us by old age, but doing our best each day to live from who we are, at that time, and from what we are too.
@innertalks (23250)
• Australia
4 Sep
@Shiva49 My own father was told he had kidney trouble, and was too weak for dialyses, and so he was sent home to die, and he only lasted one week more, going into a coma, as his body shut down, and so dying relatively physically pain free, but his mental state was rather painful, as he knew he had been marked to die.
Yes, age humbles everyone, in the end.
@Shiva49 (27568)
• Singapore
3 Sep
@innertalks In old age, especially, some with big egos have to swallow their pride in one swift gulp!
Since I had observed what old age does to them, I got ride of any vestiges of pride or ego much before old age crept in.
I heard from a relative how one successful dental doctor, long settled in Australia, could not adjust to advancing age. He was meticulous in everything he did but soon things became dicey. He was said to have taken his own life in the end.
My father was fiercely independent all his life and it was not easy for him in the end as he knew the ground under him was giving away. He refused medicines during the last week of his life.
I read some young man wondering what do the old people, nearing hundred, think.
For me, I have accepted, my number will be called in a random manner. Then walk through the gate without turning back!
1 person likes this
@arunima25 (92503)
• Bangalore, India
2 Sep
That's some interesting perspective there. Thank you for sharing. Some good food of thoughts.
2 people like this
@innertalks (23250)
• Australia
2 Sep
Thanks.
I like to put my thoughts out there into stories, as it feels better than me saying my ideas more directly myself. It puts a buffer between the thoughts, and me, for after all, it's just a story.
@innertalks (23250)
• Australia
2 Sep
@arunima25 Yes, people feel less angst about a story, and are less prejudiced too, as they can see the story, know it is only a story, and, like you said, take what they want from it, without being blocked from seeing it, by some prejudice, that might be present in them too.
@arunima25 (92503)
• Bangalore, India
2 Sep
@innertalks Actually stories are a great way to express. And each one can take what they want to take from that story. I use a lot of stories in my work with children and in my therapies. I have even done few workshops in corporates with stories about the way we perceive it
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