Category Zen Stories

“Jiun, a Shingon master, was a well-known Sanskrit scholar of the Tokugawa era. When he was young he used to deliver lectures to his brother students. His mother

“In ancient India there was a King called Janaka, who was also a sage. One day Janaka was taking a nap on his flower-strewn bed with his servants fanning him and his soldiers standing guard outside his door. As he…

“Four monks decided to meditate silently without speaking for two weeks. By nightfall on the first day, the candle began to flicker and then went out. The first monk said, “Oh, no! The candle is out.” The second monk said,…

“Emperor Wu asked Bodhidharma about the highest meaning of noble Truth, and Bodhidharma replied, “Vast emptiness, there is no noble Truth.” “Who, then, is standing before me?” “I don’t know,” said Bodhidharma. Emperor Wu then asked the enigmatic Indian sage…

“Chuang Tzu, ancient Chinese Taoist, once experienced a dream in which he was a butterfly fluttering here and there. In the dream he had no awareness of his individuality as a person; he was simply a butterfly. Suddenly, he awoke…

“An official asked Zhaozhou, “Will the master go into hell or not?” Zhaozhou replied, “I entered hell long ago.” The official asked him, “Why do you enter hell?” Zhaozhou: “If I don’t enter hell, who will teach you?””

“After winning several archery contests, the young and rather boastful champion challenged a Zen master who was renowned for his skill as an archer. The young man demonstrated remarkable technical proficiency when he hit a distant bull’s eye on his…

“After Bankei had passed away, a blind man who lived near the master’s temple told a friend: “Since I am blind, I cannot watch a person’s face, so I must judge his character by the sound of his voice. Ordinarily…

“Abraham Lincoln once asked one of his secretaries, “If you call a tail a leg, how many legs does a horse have?”. “Five,” replied the secretary. “No,” said the President, “The answer is four. Calling a tail a leg doesn’t…

“A Zen Teacher saw five of his students return from the market, riding their bicycles. When they had dismounted, the teacher asked the students,“Why are you riding your bicycles?” The first student replied, “The bicycle is carrying this sack of…