I Read Zen Stories

A young wife fell sick and was about to die. "I love you so much," she told her husband, "I do not want to leave you. Do not go from me to any other woman. If you do, I will return as a ghost and cause you endless trouble."Soon the wife...

In my pursuit of further understanding and reduction of suffering I have studied and practiced mindfulness as much as possible on my own over the past year. The Buddha advocated that one should establish mindfulness in one's day-to-day...

“When we start expecting things to stay the same we fill our wagons with suffering.”
 
Once we feel secure in our general understanding, to challenge that understanding is a step toward the unknown; a step away from our sense of...

Once there was a well known philosopher and scholar who devoted himself to the study of Zen for many years. On the day that he finally attained enlightenment, he took all of his books out into the yard, and burned them all.

There's a wonderful story about a learned man who went to see a Zen master to debate the merits of Zen. The master poured him a cup of tea, and purposely kept pouring so the tea ran over the cup and spilled onto the table. The man was...

While Seietsu was the master of Engaku in Kamakura he required larger quarters, since those in which he was teaching were overcrowded. Umeza Seibei a merchant of Edo, decided to donate five hundred pieces of gold called ryo toward the...

Joshu went to a place were a monk had retired to meditate and asked him: `What is, is what?'
The monk raised his fist.
Joshu replied: `Ships cannot remain where the water is too shallow.' And he left.
A few days later Joshu went again...

Zen stories are like a tea candle to me.
Modest burning lights of truth and wisdom.
I like to read them, even when I dont always understand them.
I dont understand how a bonzai tree grows like it does either - but like a bonzai, the...

The Emperor asked Master Gudo,"What happens to a man of enlightenment after death?""How should I know?" replied Gudo."Because you are a master," answered the Emperor."Yes sir," said Gudo, "but not a dead one."

A monk told Joshu, "I have just entered the monastery. Please teach me."
Joshu asked, "Have you eaten your rice porridge?
The monk replied, "I have eaten."
Joshu said, "Then you had better wash your bowl."
At that moment the monk was...

When one goes to Obaku temple in Kyoto he sees carved over the gate the words "The First Principle." The letters are unusually large, and those who appreciate calligraphy always admire them as being a masterpiece. They were drawn by...