Zen short story: Allow truth to remain permanently in you. Never discard truth
By emptychair
@innertalks (23558)
Australia
March 1, 2026 8:32pm CST
The Zen monastery had both cherry trees, and cherry blossom trees, in its courtyard.
Cherry blossom trees are ornamental, and cherry trees produce fruit.
Reaching up to grab a branch of the vine, the Zen master picked a cherry from the tree, and ate it.
He said to his students:
"The cherry has a small nut within, it, as do we all; we just have to find our own nut, and spit it out to do not live from it blindly, as most people do."
"This particular type of cherry is the Surinam cherry, a popular, fast-growing, evergreen, "cherry vine tree," best grown in warm climates, and it is often called a vine."
The Zen master then said,
"Cherry blossoms show us the impermanence of some inner truths, as they are perfect in us one day, and gone the next."
"We need to not let go of truth, but to build on it more understanding, of ever greater truths too."
"Truth leads us to more truth, and understanding to further understanding."
"Do not close yourself down to any existing truths in you, but strive to better understand them too."
"Cherry trees, however, produce fruit for us to eat, and so our truths should be palatable for others we tell them to too, as well as dressed up well in the correct ornamence of words too, as are cherry blossom trees."
Photo Credit: The photo used in this article was sourced from the free media site, pixabay.com
Try to live your life from a deeper truth than just might show ornamentally on your surface.
3 people like this
2 responses
@Deepizzaguy (118888)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
2 Mar
Great message that I should never close down to any existing truths in me.
2 people like this
@innertalks (23558)
• Australia
2 Mar
Yes, we should not close down to truths in us, and we should try to understand them better too, and voice them out to the world, so that each person's take on truth can be shared, and so help others to better understand the truth too.
@Shiva49 (27954)
• Singapore
2 Mar
My approach has been to let the truth shine and make subtle inference to it to attract needed attention of the unobserving.
To put it in the face is a clear put off like some do with a holier than thou attitude.
One need to be a keen observer of life to add meaning to our lives away from the mundane, repetitive, lifestyle when the hollowness therefrom stares at us in the evening of our lives.
It is said wisdom and connection to universe is ever present but we overlook the basic carried away as are by those that distract us.
1 person likes this
@innertalks (23558)
• Australia
2 Mar
Yes, somebody over-preaching what they think is truth to others is a real put-off.
It is often better to let truth shine from us, and only talk it over when asked for an opinion.
Sometimes, we are meant to stand up, and not hide our truth too, though, so each circumstance can be different.
Yes, we often try to overcomplicate what is really more basically simple, and stares us in the face as a real truth, not a dressed up one.
@innertalks (23558)
• Australia
3 Mar
@Shiva49 Of course, there is an elephant in the room containing ourselves too.
We need to train the elephant as, otherwise, it will squash away our true self.
Also, as we change over time, which is the point of life, I think, we can increase in wisdom, understanding and knowledge of truth, and in our ability to truly love others, ourselves, and God, over time too.
And so in this respect, we should not remain staid, stick in the muds either, but recognise that each day brings us a new self, in some respects too, and we never remain the same old self, unless we choose to do so.
Who we are grows, and shines, more over time then, but we always remain the God given soul, or higher self, that really is the real us too.
@Shiva49 (27954)
• Singapore
3 Mar
@innertalks We need to be steadfast in sticking to who we really are.
Some are like chameleons changing their outlook to please others for material benefits, especially.
They can run with the hare and hunt with the hounds as the situation demands.
Survival instincts kick in though at times and it is better to hold our opinion till the coast is clear as it were!
1 person likes this
