Zen story: The questioning monk who wanted secrets revealed to him
By emptychair
@innertalks (23726)
Australia
June 3, 2026 9:37pm CST
A student monk asked his old Zen master to tell him the secrets of Zen, that he had never shared with his students.
The old man smiled, and replied,
"Nobody knows the secrets of Zen in their minds, not even me."
"The idea of Zen is not to know Zen with our minds, but to be Zen itself, in our hearts. Zen is more that a thought, or a feeling; it is a way of connecting to the greater awareness, that we call God."
"Zen connects you to greater wisdomed insight, and so you stay aware, in whatever you do, and your mind thinks its thoughts just the same, but you do not allow your thoughts to overpower your awareness."
"Zen meditation allows you to actualise truth into wisdom."
Meditation is a mirror of God's that allows you to both see your real self, and God, at one, and the same time."
"Zen meditation allows love to penetrate to every part of your being, and when you meditate, you should feel love doing this too."
Photo Credit: The photo used in this article was sourced from the free media site, pixabay.com
The young monk wanted the secrets of Zen handed to him. Zen does not work that way.
3 people like this
2 responses
@Deepizzaguy (121973)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
4 Jun
Excellent post about the Zen master telling his student monk that Zen meditation is to see the real person and God at the same time.
2 people like this
@innertalks (23726)
• Australia
4 Jun
Yes, thanks.
Most spiritual teachings tell us that we are all one in substance, and can feel one with God too. Any felt separation is merely an illusion that we hold onto with our minds.
@Shiva49 (28352)
• Singapore
4 Jun
@innertalks We tend to separate ourselves from creation, then lose the oneness needed for a fulfilling journey. We are in this together.
1 person likes this
@innertalks (23726)
• Australia
4 Jun
@Shiva49 Yes, the nut cannot be separated from the tree, as it contains the tree within it too, but we, like the nut, should grow into who we are meant to be within God's creation, and not just stay, the nutty nut too.
@Shiva49 (28352)
• Singapore
4 Jun
In a way, it is like life has to be experienced individually than try to take short cuts from those we look up to.
The journey of life is the real experience by itself for our elevation to a higher realm of existence.
One has to switch on without let up to rise rather than try for short bursts through intense and rigorous pursuit.
The young monk was impatient - an anathema to the pursuit of Zen!
1 person likes this
@innertalks (23726)
• Australia
4 Jun
Impatience is a trait of an anxious mind, and we should stay with the peace in our hearts, as only the heart knows the real secrets, of which, the mind can never know.
Yes, we should not just intermittingly connect to our hearts, and so spend the rest of our time lingering with our mind; we should stay heart people, all of our living time here.
@innertalks (23726)
• Australia
6h
@Shiva49 Yes, to remain more on the positive side is good for most of us, as long as we do not become serial positive spouters, and so just upset others, with false positivity, and no practicality of helpfulness, in their life.
The preacher positive type just bores into us, and pains us, rather than helps us.
@Shiva49 (28352)
• Singapore
16h
@innertalks Yes, it should become a habit but not a forced one.
I have seen a few who are positive all the time. Some one told me when people asked how life was, he responded with it was fair. He said he was better than most others, so why spread negativity?
Connecting to the heart reassures us that we are in this for the long haul. Why then bother about the daily graphs?
1 person likes this
