Short story: The Zen master knew when to call it a day, and not force things against his own soul's wishes for him, and his life
By emptychair
@innertalks (23662)
Australia
February 22, 2026 3:56pm CST
The old Zen master had been struggling with the decision of whether he should keep being the head monk at his monastery, as he was getting old now, and to his annoyance, his memory was not what it was anymore.
He knew that this was a part of his brain, and mind, and in no way took anything away from his enlightened state. His soul self was still working as it should, it was only getting the message through his old mind, and brain, that now caused him to struggle.
He asked himself:
"How can I make a decision here that will work best?"
He answered himself:
"I need to reach past the decision, and feel the possible answers, and so feel which is best to follow."
And so, he resigned as the master, but stayed in the monastery as a mentoring role for the new master, that he now appointed.
He remembered the saying of another spiritual master:
“The mind creates the abyss, and the heart crosses it.”
Nisargadatta Maharaj
The old Zen master's mind was now creating deep problems for him, especially with him handling day to day stuff in the monastery, but his heart was still in the right spot, and so he could bridge the mind, and still provide some heartfelt wisdomed advice to the new Zen master too.
The old Zen master called time on himself, as he knew forcing things was never the way of the heart, but more a device of the mind, usually centred around a need for self gratification, greed, and inflated ego.
Photo Credit: The photo used in this article was sourced from the free media site, pixabay.com
Time catches us all in the end.
1 person likes this
1 response
@Shiva49 (28212)
• Singapore
23 Feb
It happens to all - the conflict between the mind and heart.
"Never the twain shall meet" is apt.
It is never easy for anyone to take step to step away from life as it were.
The ego acts up even for Zen masters.
The mind pulls us down, tough to control, but the heart has to work inside us to see reason.
The least we can do is to listen to it.
1 person likes this
@innertalks (23662)
• Australia
23 Feb
The body pulls us down as we age too, so if our mind is also pulling us down, that's a double whammy.
Our heart, and soul do not age; only increase in wisdom over time, so when we aware of this, we should really give them both a fuller rein in our life, instead of letting ourselves be reined back by our body, and mind, instead.
@Shiva49 (28212)
• Singapore
24 Feb
@innertalks Some get depressed going through the evening of their lives with the frailties of the body acting up.
Many struggle with daily chores and become a typical grumpy old men/women. When others tend to look away they talk/murmur to themselves adding to their miserable existence as it were.
I have seen happy go lucky folks isolating themselves and denying hearing and eyesight issues.
Frankly, I feel at times I am driving on a flat tire!
1 person likes this
@innertalks (23662)
• Australia
24 Feb
@Shiva49 My Dad ignored his teeth, and eyesight, problems, but these days, my optometrist, sends me a email, and an sms message, every 6 months, or more, telling me a checkup is due, which is free here, but then, like a new car salesman brings in the pretty girl to sell you extras, the optometrist does the same, and a pretty saleslady tries to sell you the latest glasses.
Last time, I was told that my eyes had improved, when I had just gone in there in the morning, instead of in the afternoon, as I usually did, for the test, and my eyesight is better in the morning, more sharp, and I was stitched up nicely, with a new pair of glasses, costing $500.
There is no fool like an old fool, and an old fool can be fooled more easily than a young fool too, it seems.
