Zen Story: “A farmer requested a Tendai priest to recite sutras for his wife, who had died. After the recitation was over the farmer asked: “Do you think my wife will gain merit from this?” “Not only your wife, but…
“A famous spiritual teacher came to the front door of the King’s palace. None of the guards tried to stop him as he entered and made his way to where the King himself was sitting on his throne. “What do…
“Tosui was a well-known Zen teacher of his time. He had lived in several temples and taught in various provinces. The last temple he visited accumulated so many adherents that Tosui told them he was going to quit the lecture…
“A man and his son were once going with their Donkey to market. As they were walking along by its side a countryman passed them and said : “You fool, what a Donkey for but to ride is upon?” So…
“Once, there was this guy, who was in love with a girl. She wasn’t the most beautiful and gorgeous but for him, she was everything. He used to dream about her, about spending the rest of life with her. His…
“Ryokan, the Zen teacher, was requested by his sister-in-law to come to her house and talk to her son. “He does no work, squanders his father’s money in wild parties and is neglecting the estate,” she complained. “If he does…
“The anecdotes of Emperor Akbar and his trusted aide Birbal are entertaining as well as enlightening. Once, the Emperor received the gift of a rare perfume. As he opened the bottle, a drop of perfume fell to the floor. Akbar…
“A farm horse named Charles was led to town one day by his owner, to be shod. He would have been shod and brought back home without incident if it hadn’t been for Eva, a duck, who was always hanging…
“Do you know the legend of the Cherokee Indian youth’s rite of passage? His father takes him into the forrest…blindfolded…and leaves him….alone. He is required to sit on a stump the whole night…and not take off the blindfold until the…
“A mystic used to walk every midnight towards the river, just to sit silently there. A watchman of a nearby bungalow used to notice him come at midnight. Finally it became impossible to resist, and the watchman stopped the mystic…