Best Buddhist Stories Many teachings from Zen-Buddhism are told in short and delightful zen stories.

T hey are usually designed to develop the mind and to free it from distortions and so to connect with our spirit. Some of them are really inspiring and enlightening. It is helpful to the mind to think about them and feel the deeper meaning. Even if it is not possible to gra sp them fully, the beauty and simplicity of the message usually gets through to us one way or the other. The following 10 Zen stories are a selection of the ones I found most inspiring and really worth to ponder about. Some may be instantly understood, some others need to be thought through and recognized in oneself. They are about the following topics: life in the present moment, different persp ectives, attachment, resistance, judgment, delusion, beliefs and thought as ment al concepts but not truth and unconditional love. Please feel free to post your interpretation or other stories into the comments. After reading the first, follow its advice to read all the others. :) 1. A Cup of Tea Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a universit y professor who came to inquire about Zen. Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitors cup full, and then kept on pouring. The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. It is overfull. No more will go in! Like this cup, Nan-in said, you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup? 2. The Burden Two monks were returning to the monastery in the evening. It had rained and ther e were puddles of water on the road sides. At one place a beautiful young woman was standing unable to walk accross because of a puddle of water. The elder of t he two monks went up to a her lifted her and left her on the other side of the r oad, and continued his way to the monastery. In the evening the younger monk came to the elder monk and said, Sir, as monks, w e cannot touch a woman ? The elder monk answered yes, brother. Then the younger monk asks again, but then Sir, how is that you lifted that woman on the roadside ? The elder monk smiled at him and told him I left her on the other side of the ro ad, but you are still carrying her. 3. Finding a Piece of the Truth One day Mara, the Evil One, was travelling through the villages of India with hi s attendants. he saw a man doing walking meditation whose face was lit up on won der. The man had just discovered something on the ground in front of him. Maras a ttendant asked what that was and Mara replied, A piece of truth. Doesnt this bother you when someone finds a piece of truth, O Evil One? his attenda nt asked. No, Mara replied. Right after this, they usually make a belief out of it. 4. The Other Side One day a young Buddhist on his journey home came to the banks of a wide river. Staring hopelessly at the great obstacle in front of him, he pondered for hours on just how to cross such a wide barrier. Just as he was about to give up his pu rsuit to continue his journey he saw a great teacher on the other side of the ri ver. The young Buddhist yells over to the teacher, Oh wise one, can you tell me h ow to get to the other side of this river? The teacher ponders for a moment looks up and down the river and yells back, My s on, you are on the other side. 5. Is That So? The Zen master Hakuin was praised by his neighbors as one living a pure life. A beautiful Japanese girl whose parents owned a food store lived near him. Sudde nly, without any warning, her parents discovered she was with child. This made her parents very angry. She would not confess who the man was, but aft er much harassment at last named Hakuin.

In great anger the parents went to the master. Is that so? was all he would say. When the child was born, the parents brought it to the Hakuin, who now was viewe d as a pariah by the whole village. They demanded that he take care of the child since it was his responsibility. Is that so? Hakuin said calmly as he accepted th e child. A year later the girl-mother could stand it no longer. She told her parents the truth that the real father of the child was a young man who worked in the fishma rket. The mother and father of the girl at once went to Hakuin to ask his forgiveness, to apologize at length, and to get the child back again. Hakuin was willing. In yielding the child, all he said was: Is that so? 6. Maybe Once upon the time there was an old farmer who had worked his crops for many yea rs. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to vis it. Such bad luck, they said sympathetically. Maybe, the farmer replied. The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. Ho w wonderful, the neighbors exclaimed. Maybe, replied the old man. The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfo rtune. Maybe, answered the farmer. The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into th e army. Seeing that the sons leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors co ngratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out. Maybe, said the farmer. 7. Cliffhanger One day while walking through the wilderness a man stumbled upon a vicious tiger . He ran but soon came to the edge of a high cliff. Desperate to save himself, h e climbed down a vine and dangled over the fatal precipice. As he hung there, two mice appeared from a hole in the cliff and began gnawing o n the vine. Suddenly, he noticed on the vine a plump wild strawberry. He plucked it and popp ed it in his mouth. It was incredibly delicious! 8. The Blind Men and the Elephant Several citizens ran into a hot argument about God and different religions, and each one could not agree to a common answer. So they came to the Lord Buddha to find out what exactly God looks like. The Buddha asked his disciples to get a large magnificent elephant and four blin d men. He then brought the four blind to the elephant and told them to find out what the elephant would look like. The first blind men touched the elephant leg and reported that it looked like a pi llar. The second blind man touched the elephant tummy and said that an elephant was a wall. The third blind man touched the elephant ear and said that it was a piece of cloth. The fourth blind man hold on to the tail and described the eleph ant as a piece of rope. And all of them ran into a hot argument about the appeara nce of an elephant. The Buddha asked the citizens: Each blind man had touched the elephant but each o f them gives a different description of the animal. Which answer is right? 9. Right and Wrong When Bankei held his seclusion-weeks of meditation, pupils from many parts of Ja pan came to attend. During one of these gatherings a pupil was caught stealing. The matter was reported to Bankei with the request that the culprit be expelled. Bankei ignored the case. Later the pupil was caught in a similar act, and again Bankei disregarded the ma tter. This angered the other pupils, who drew up a petition asking for the dismi ssal of the thief, stating that otherwise they would leave in a body. When Bankei had read the petition he called everyone before him. You are wise bro thers, he told them. You know what is right and what is not right. You may go some

where else to study if you wish, but this poor brother does not even know right from wrong. Who will teach him if I do not? I am going to keep him here even if all the rest of you leave. A torrent of tears cleansed the face of the brother who had stolen. All desire t o steal had vanished. 10. Nothing Exists Yamaoka Tesshu, as a young student of Zen, visited one master after another. He called upon Dokuon of Shokoku. Desiring to show his attainment, he said: The mind, Buddha, and sentient beings, after all, do not exist. The true nature of phenomena is emptiness. There is no realization, no delusion, no sage, no mediocrity. There is no giving and nothing to be received. Dokuon, who was smoking quietly, said nothing. Suddenly he whacked Yamaoka with his bamboo pipe. This made the youth quite angry. If nothing exists, inquired Dokuon, where did this anger come from? Bonus 11. Teaching the Ultimate In early times in Japan, bamboo-and-paper lanterns were used with candles inside . A blind man, visiting a friend one night, was offered a lantern to carry home with him. I do not need a lantern, he said. Darkness or light is all the same to me. I know you do not need a lantern to find your way, his friend replied, but if you d ont have one, someone else may run into you. So you must take it. The blind man started off with the lantern and before he had walked very far som eone ran squarely into him. Look out where you are going! he exclaimed to the stra nger. Cant you see this lantern? Your candle has burned out, brother, replied the stranger.