| Fringe Blog – Writing on Film, Culture, and Things on the Fringe

Masterpiece

By jelewis8 ⋅ October 22, 2004 ⋅ Post a comment

A master calligrapher was writing some characters onto a piece of paper. One of his especially perceptive students was watching him. When the calligrapher was finished, he asked for the student’s opinion – who immediately told him that it wasn’t any good. The master tried again, but the student criticized the work again. Over and [...]

Learning the Hard Way

By jelewis8 ⋅ October 15, 2004 ⋅ One comment

The son of a master thief asked his father to teach him the secrets of the trade. The old thief agreed and that night took his son to burglarize a large house. While the family was asleep, he silently led his young apprentice into a room that contained a clothes closet. The father told his [...]

Knowing Fish

By jelewis8 ⋅ October 8, 2004 ⋅ Post a comment

One day Chuang Tzu and a friend were walking by a river. “Look at the fish swimming about,” said Chuang Tzu, “They are really enjoying themselves.” “You are not a fish,” replied the friend, “So you can’t truly know that they are enjoying themselves.” “You are not me,” said Chuang Tzu. “So how do you [...]

Just Two Words

By jelewis8 ⋅ September 24, 2004 ⋅ One comment

There once was a monastery that was very strict. Following a vow of silence, no one was allowed to speak at all. But there was one exception to this rule. Every ten years, the monks were permitted to speak just two words. After spending his first ten years at the monastery, one monk went to [...]

Going With The Flow

By jelewis8 ⋅ September 17, 2004 ⋅ Post a comment

A Taoist story tells of an old man who accidentally fell into the river rapids leading to a high and dangerous waterfall. Onlookers feared for his life. Miraculously, he came out alive and unharmed downstream at the bottom of the falls. People asked him how he managed to survive. “I accommodated myself to the water, [...]

Is That So?

By jelewis8 ⋅ September 10, 2004 ⋅ One comment

A beautiful girl in the village was pregnant. Her angry parents demanded to know who was the father. At first resistant to confess, the anxious and embarrassed girl finally pointed to Hakuin, the Zen master whom everyone previously revered for living such a pure life. When the outraged parents confronted Hakuin with their daughter’s accusation, [...]

Gift of Insults

By jelewis8 ⋅ September 3, 2004 ⋅ Post a comment

There once lived a great warrior. Though quite old, he still was able to defeat any challenger. His reputation extended far and wide throughout the land and many students gathered to study under him. One day an infamous young warrior arrived at the village. He was determined to be the first man to defeat the [...]

Christian Buddha

By jelewis8 ⋅ August 27, 2004 ⋅ 5 comments

One of master Gasan’s monks visited the university in Tokyo. When he returned, he asked the master if he had ever read the Christian Bible. “No,” Gasan replied, “Please read some of it to me.” The monk opened the Bible to the Sermon on the Mount in St. Matthew, and began reading. After reading Christ’s [...]

Gutei’s Finger

By jelewis8 ⋅ August 20, 2004 ⋅ 2 comments

Whenever anyone asked him about Zen, the great master Gutei would quietly raise one finger into the air. A boy in the village began to imitate this behavior. Whenever he heard people talking about Gutei’s teachings, he would interrupt the discussion and raise his finger. Gutei heard about the boy’s mischief. When he saw him [...]

Banishing a Ghost

By jelewis8 ⋅ August 13, 2004 ⋅ Post a comment

The wife of a man became very sick. On her deathbed, she said to him, “I love you so much! I don’t want to leave you, and I don’t want you to betray me. Promise that you will not see any other women once I die, or I will come back to haunt you.” For [...]

Search

Zen Musings