Parables from The Gospel Of Sri Ramakrishna

How Can God Be Realized?

This is a story of the man who asked his guru how God could be realized. The guru said to him: ‘Come with me. I shall show you how one can realize God.’ Saying this, he took the disciple to a lake and held his head under the water. After a short time he released the disciple and asked him, ‘How did you feel?’ ‘I was dying for a breath of air!’ said the disciple. When the soul longs and yearns for God like that, then you will know that you do not have long to wait for His vision. The rosy colour on the eastern horizon shows that the sun will soon rise."

The Watchman and the Lantern

“In olden days, the Indian village hired a night-watchman to keep down crime and accidents. He would go around the streets and lanes with a square metal lantern open only at the front. The watchman could see, wherever the lantern cast its light. No rays of light fell on him, who carried the lantern. If you wanted to see who the watchman was, you had to ask him to turn the lamp back on his own face.

We are like that! Our eyes (ears, tongue, etc.) are all facing outward, looking at and feeling the things of the world. God says, "If you want to see me, turn the lamp around; look within and find the Source of all the light."" 

The absence of self

Buddha's disciple Subhuti suddenly discovered the richness and fecundity of emptiness; the realisation that everything is impermanent, unsatisfactory and empty of self.

In this mood of divine emptiness, he sat in bliss under a tree when suddenly flowers began to fall all around him. And the gods whispered, “We're enraptured by your sublime teachings on emptiness.” Subhuti replied, “But i've not uttered a word about emptiness.” “True,” the gods replied. “You've not spoken of emptiness, we've not heard of emptiness. This is true emptiness.” And the showers of blossoms continued.

If i had spoken of my emptiness or even been aware of it, would it be emptiness? Music needs the hollowness of the flute, letters, the blankness of the page, light, the void called a window, holiness, the absence of self. “Divinity descends on a man who never seeks divinity,” said a Persian mystic. Our minds are too cluttered with the ideas of self, divinity and spirituality. In our conscious endeavour to become spiritual we fall short of our objective and remain worldly. We're all too preoccupied with things that have no real significance in life.

A woman went to Lao Tse and said that she was constantly tormented by useless thoughts whenever she sat for her evening prayers. Lao Tse said, “Try to pray anytime in a day and come to me after a few days.” She came to meet Lao Tse and told him that no thoughts tormented her now when she didn't set aside a fixed hour for prayers. “When you fixed a time, your self was conscious. You were aware of the need to pray at a given time. Now with random prayers, you've broken that stifling mould. You're no longer conscious, thus free of any pestering thought.” Unawareness is a blissful state. With awareness comes a set pattern. It gives birth to a structure, a formula, a format.

Rumi said, "While talking to my beloved (Allah), i'm unaware at times whether to speak or not. I often remain silent because my beloved doesn't like much volubility." Silence is unspoken emptiness and is much more eloquent than any set or fixed prayer.

The trouble is we've set aside practices and rituals even for spirituality. One has to visit a Shani mandir only on Saturdays or wear a certain stone on a specific day. This has no meaning. Every hour is auspicious and every day is lucky.

Blissful ignorance is divinity. Only in a state of bekhudi or self-immersion you can reach the stage of enlightenment, called 'turiya avastha'. Buddha never felt that he had attained satori or enlightenment. It became integral to his mystic consciousness. Any effort to expedite the process of enlightenment is futile. In Ramz-e-bekhudi Allama Iqbal says, “Spirituality is not something mundane to attain, the way we put all our efforts into achieving an object in life. It occurs like a bolt from the blue when you least expected it."

Conscious endeavour cannot lead a seeker to his spiritual destination. Nor is the lifestyle of a monk assurance of achieving the state of perpetual bliss. The moment mind becomes free of wish, desire or wistfulness, a divine consciousness descends. Christ was a carpenter's son, Muhammad was reportedly unlettered, Moses was adopted and he was reportedly illiterate. "God finds his way through unconscious and unpretentious people. Because divinity resides in a blissfully unaware mind," Tagore wrote in the Gitanjali.

know your value!!

A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a 500 $ note. In the room of 200 Peoples,

He asked, “Who would like this 500 $ note?”

Hands started going up.

He said, “I am going to give this note to one of you but first let me do this.”


He proceeded to crumple the note up.

He then asked, “Who still wants it?”

Still the hands were up in the air.

“Well,” he replied, “What if I do this?”

And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now all crumpled and dirty.

“Now who still wants it?”

Still the hands went into the air.

“My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson.

No matter what I did to the money.

You still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth 500 $/-.

Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless.

But no matter what has happened or what will happen.

Never lose your value.

You are special. Don’t ever forget it! Never let yesterday’s disappointments overshadow tomorrow’s dreams.

“VALUE HAS A VALUE ONLY IF ITS VALUE IS VALUED”

Assesement of Spiritual Progress

Madhu Sudan Saraswati was a great Sanskrit scholar of yore well versed in the Scriptures. He had written a famous commentary on Bhagavad Gita. In his youth he was leading a life of ease and comfort. One day, a visiting monk (Sannyasi) initiated him in Krishna mantra and persuaded him that if he were to do continuous chanting (Japa) of the Mantra (some sacred syllables) for 16 hours a day for three years he would have God-realisation and could see Lord Krishna face to face. Madhu Sudanji began going to a dilapidated Krishna’s temple nearby, where nobody used to come and was regularly doing his japa daily, returning home only at night. But even after four years there was no sign of any God-experience or vision of God. He got disgusted and felt that the monk had duped him. He abandoned his quest and came back home disappointed.
That day evening he went for a walk upto the bazaar (shopping area). On the way his slippers (sandals) gave way. He took them to a cobbler who was sitting nearby under a tree and asked him to mend them. The cobbler, however, was taking his own time. He took out some tobacco from a pouch, cleaned them and crushed them. Madhu Sudanji felt annoyed and rebuked him for not attending to the job entrusted to him.

The cobbler retorted – “Sir, you are always in a hurry and have no patience. That is why you fail in your attempts. See, you did Krishna japa for four years and have now abandoned it in haste.” Madhu Sudanji was astonished as he had been doing Krishna japa secretly and even his own family members never knew about it. In reply to his enquiry, the cobbler said, “Sir, I have mastered an occult mantra of a ghost (Bhoota mantra) which comes to me invisibly and tells in my ear some juicy information or other details about the personal life of the customers who come to me. This makes me popular and draws more customers to me.”

Madhu Sudanji requested the cobbler to initiate him in the Bhoota Mantra and asked him how much time it would take to get mastery (Siddhi) in it. The cobbler pleaded with him saying that having done japa of such great Mantras like Krishna’s he should not come down to practising mantras of such low beings as ghosts even though the latter would take only 5 to 6 months to master.

Madhu Sudanji being adamant got his way and started doing the japa of the Bhoota Mantra. Nine months passed and no ghost came to him. He was enraged that even a cobbler had dared to dupe him. He went to the bazaar again with a stout stick in his hands. The cobbler gauged the situation and stood up with his hands folded over his head. He said, “Sir, please beat me as much as you like but not before you hear me. In three months’ time the ghost started to come to you but it could not approach
you anywhere within a mile as it found a sky-high fence of divine flame all around you as a result of the Krishna Mantra you had chanted for four years. I am an illiterate but kindly heed my advice. If only you are to continue your Krishna Japa for some more time you are sure to realise your goal.” Accordingly, Madhu Sudanji continued his Japa for another two years or so and was rewarded with the vision of Lord Krishna.

SPIRITUAL PROGRESS WHICH IS SUBTLE CAN NEVER BE ASSESSED OR KNOWN. ONE HAS TO GO AHEAD ON THIS PATH WITH FULL FAITH THAT EVERY SECOND OF HIS SADHANA IS TAKING HIM NEARER TO THE GOAL.

In our friendships, please erase the bad moments from your mind and engrave the great moments in your heart.

A story tells that two friends were walking through the desert. In a specific point of the journey, they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other one in the face.

The one, who got slapped, was hurt, but without anything to say, he wrote in the sand:
"TODAY, MY BEST FRIEND SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE".

They kept on walking, until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one who got slapped and hurt started drowning, and the other friend saved him. When he recovered from the fright, he wrote on a stone:
"TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SAVED MY LIFE".

The friend who saved and slapped his best friend, asked him, "Why, after I hurt you, you wrote in the sand, and now you write on a stone?"

The other friend, smiling, replied: "When a friend hurts us, we should write it down in the sand, where the winds of forgiveness get in charge of erasing it away, and when something great happens, we should engrave it in the stone of the memory of the heart, where no wind can erase it".

In our friendships, please erase the bad moments from your mind and engrave the great moments in your heart.

Each of us has our own unique flaws. We're all cracked pots. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. You've just got to take each person for what they are, and look for the good in them.

A water bearer in China had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which he carried across his neck.. One of the pots had a crack in it, while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walk from the stream to the house, thecracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water to his house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect for which it was made.

But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.

After 2 years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, and because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house." The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, and I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you've watered them.

For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house"

Moral: Each of us has our own unique flaws. We're all cracked pots. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. You've just got to take each person for what they are, and look for the good in them.

A philosophy to be kept in mind the next time, whenever you either hear a rumour.

A philosophy to be kept in mind the next time, whenever you either hear a rumour.

In ancient Greece (469 - 399 BC), Socrates was widely lauded for his wisdom.

One day the great philosopher came upon an acquaintance who ran up to him excitedly and said:

"Socrates, do you know what I just heard about one of your students?"

"Wait a moment," Socrates replied. "Before you tell me I'd like you to pass a little test. It's called the Triple Filter Test."

"Triple filter?"

"That's right," Socrates continued. "Before you talk to me about my student let's take a moment to filter what you're going to say. The first filter is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?"

"No," the man said, "actually I just heard about it."

"All right," said Socrates . "So you don't really know if it's true or not. Now let's try the second filter, the filter of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my student something good?"

"No, on the contrary ..."

"So," Socrates continued, "you want to tell me something bad about him, even though you're not certain it's true?"

The man shrugged, a little embarrassed.

Socrates continued." You may still pass the test though, because there is a third filter - the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my student going to be useful to me?"

"No, not really ."

"Well," concluded Socrates , "if what you want to tell me is neither True nor Good nor even Useful, why tell it to me at all?"

The man was defeated and ashamed.

This is the reason Socrates was a great philosopher and held in such high esteem.

zen stories

A young but earnest Zen student approached his teacher, and asked the Zen Master: "If I work very hard and diligent how long will it take for me to find Zen."

The Master thought about this, then replied, "Ten years."

The student then said, "But what if I work very, very hard and really apply myself to learn fast -- How long then?"

Replied the Master, "Well, twenty years."

"But, if I really, really work at it. How long then?" asked the student.

"Thirty years" replied the Master.

"But, I do not understand," said the disappointed student. "At each time that I say I will work harder, you say it will take me longer. Why do you say that?"

Replied the Master, "When you have one eye on the goal, you only have one eye on the path."

Don't forget to sharpen your knowledge often.

Once upon a time a very strong woodcutter ask for a job in a timber merchant, and he got it. The paid was really good and so were the work conditions. For that reason, the woodcutter was determined to do his best.

His boss gave him an axe and showed him the area where he was supposed to work. The first day, the woodcutter brought 18 trees.

"Congratulations," the boss said. "Go on that way!"

Very motivated for the boss’ words, the woodcutter try harder the next day, but he only could bring 15 trees. The third day he try even harder, but he only could bring 10 trees.Day after day he was bringing less and less trees.

"I must be losing my strength", the woodcutter thought. He went to the boss and apologized, saying that he could not understand what was going on.

"When was the last time you sharpened your axe?" the boss asked.

"Sharpen? I had no time to sharpen my axe. I have been very busy trying to cut trees..."

Don't forget to sharpen your knowledge often.

Freedom Parrot – Osho

Freedom Parrot – Osho
A man, a great man, a fighter for freedom was traveling in the mountains. He stayed in a caravanserai for the night. He was amazed that in the caravanserai there was a beautiful parrot in a golden cage, continually repeating “Freedom! Freedom!” And it was such a place that when the parrot repeated the word “Freedom!” it would go on echoing in the valleys, in the mountains.
The man thought: “I have seen many parrots, and I have thought they must want to be free from those cages… but I have never seen such a parrot whose whole day, from the morning to the evening when he goes to sleep, is spent in calling out for freedom.” He had an idea. In the middle of the night, when the owner was fast asleep, he got up and opened the door of the cage. He whispered to the parrot, “Now get out.”
But he was very surprised that the parrot was clinging to the bars of the cage. He said to him again and again, “Have you forgotten about freedom? Just get out! The door is open and the owner is fast asleep; nobody will ever know. You just fly into the sky; the whole sky is yours.”
But the parrot was clinging so deeply, so hard, that the man said, “What is the matter? Are you mad?” He tried to take the parrot out with his own hands, but the parrot started pecking at him, and at the same time he was shouting “Freedom! Freedom!” The valleys in the night echoed and re-echoed, but the man was also stubborn; he was a freedom fighter.
He pulled the parrot out and threw him into the sky; and he was very satisfied, although his hand was hurt. The parrot had attacked him as forcefully as he could, but the man was immensely satisfied that he had made a soul free. He went to sleep.
In the morning, as the man was waking up, he heard the parrot shouting, “Freedom! Freedom!” He thought perhaps the parrot must be sitting on a tree or on a rock. But when he came out, the parrot was sitting in the cage. The door was open.

Three Blind Men

Three Blind Men
Once some blind men chanced to come near an animal that someone told them was an elephant. They were asked what the elephant was like. The blind men began to feel its body. One of them said the elephant was like a pillar; he had touched only its leg. Another said it was like a winnowing-fan; he had touched only its ear.
In this way the others, having touched its tail or belly, gave their different versions of the elephant. Just so, a man who has seen only one aspect of God limits God to that alone. It is his conviction that God cannot be anything else.

Walking on Water” by Sri Ramakrishna

“Walking on Water” by Sri Ramakrishna
The duty of a farmer’s daughter was to carry fresh milk to customers in various villages, one of whom was a priest. To reach his house, the milkmaid had to cross a good-sized stream. People crossed it by a sort of ferry raft, for a small fee.
One day the priest scolded the poor woman as she arrived late with the milk which the priest used it daily as “Offering” to God. ”What can I do?” she said, “I start out early from my house, but I have to wait a long time for the boatman to come.”
Then the priest said (pretending to be serious), “You know! People have even walked across the ocean by repeating the names of God, and you can’t cross this little river?” This milkmaid took him very seriously. From then on she brought the priest’s milk punctually every morning. He became curious about it and asked how she was never late anymore.
“I cross the river repeating the name of the Lord,” she replied, “just as you told me to do, without waiting for the ferry.” The priest didn’t believe her, and asked, “Can you show me, how you cross the river on foot once ?” So they went together to the water and the milkmaid began to walk over it. Looking back, the woman saw that the priest had started to follow her and was drowning in the water.
“Sir!” she cried, “Though you are uttering the name of God, yet all the while you are holding up your clothes from getting wet. That is not trusting in God completely!”

Snake that refused to hiss

Snake that refused to hiss
Some cowherd boys used to tend their cows in a meadow where a terrible poisonous snake lived. Everyone was on the alert for fear of it. One day a brahmachari was going along the meadow. The boys ran to him and said; ‘Revered sir, please don’t go that way. A venomous snake lives over there.’ ‘What of it, my good children?’ said the brahmachari. ‘I am not afraid of the snake. I know some mantras.’ So saying, he continued on his way along the meadow. But the cowherd boys, being afraid, did not accompany him. In the mean time the snake moved swiftly toward him with upraised hood. As soon as it came near, he recited a mantra, and the snake lay at his feet like an earthworm. The brahmachari said: ‘Look here. Why do you go about doing harm? Come, I will give you a holy word. By repeating it you will learn to love God. Ultimately you will realize Him and so get rid of your violent nature.’ Saying this, he taught the snake a holy word and initiated him into spiritual life. The snake bowed before the teacher and said, ‘Revered sir, how shall I practise spiritual discipline?’ ‘Repeat that sacred word’, said the teacher, ‘and do no harm to anybody.’ As he was about to depart, the brahmachari said, ‘I shall see you again.’
“Some days passed and the cowherd boys noticed that the snake would not bite. They threw stones at it. Still it showed no anger; it behaved as if it were an earthworm. One day one of the boys came close to it, caught it by the tail, and, whirling it round and round, dashed it again and again on the ground and threw it away. The snake vomited blood and became unconscious. It was stunned. It could not move. So, thinking it dead, the boys went their way.
“Late at night the snake regained consciousness. Slowly and with great difficulty it dragged itself into its hole; its bones were broken and it could scarcely move. Many days passed. The snake became a mere skeleton covered with a skin. Now and then, at night, it would come out in search of food. For fear of the boys it would not leave its hole during the day-time. Since receiving the sacred word from the teacher, it had given up doing harm to others. It maintained its life on dirt, leaves, or the fruit that dropped from the trees.
“About a year later the brahmachari came that way again and asked after the snake. The cowherd boys told him that it was dead. But he couldn’t believe them. He knew that the snake would not die before attaining the fruit of the holy word with which it had been initiated. He found his way to the place and, searching here and there, called it by the name he had given it. Hearing the teacher’s voice, it came out of its hole and bowed before him with great reverence. ‘How are you?’ asked the brahmachari. ‘I am well, sir’, replied the snake. ‘But’, the teacher asked, ‘why are you so thin?’ The snake replied: ‘Revered sir, you ordered me not to harm anybody. So I have been living only on leaves and fruit. Perhaps that has made me thinner.’
“The snake had developed the quality of sattva; it could not be angry with anyone. It had totally forgotten that the cowherd boys had almost killed it.
“The brahmachari said: ‘It can’t be mere want of food that has reduced you to this state. There must be some other reason. Think a little.’ Then the snake remembered that the boys had dashed it against the ground. It said: ‘Yes, revered sir, now I remember. The boys one day dashed me violently against the ground. They are ignorant, after all. They didn’t realize what a great change had come over my mind. How could they know I wouldn’t bite or harm anyone?’ The brahmachari exclaimed: ‘What a shame! You are such a fool! You don’t know how to protect yourself. I asked you not to bite, but I didn’t forbid you to hiss. Why didn’t you scare them by hissing?’

Friends for life

Friends for life
Two friends were walking through the desert. During some point of the journey, they had an argument and one friend slapped the other one in the face. The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the sand:
“Today my best friend slapped me in the face.”
They kept on walking, until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but the friend saved him. After he recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone:
“Today my best friend saved my life.”
The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him, “After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now, you write on a stone, why?”
The friend replied, when someone hurts us we should write it down in sand, where the winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it.”

A Useless Life

A Useless Life
A farmer got so old that he couldn’t work in the fields anymore. So he would spend the day just sitting on the porch. His son, still working in the farm, would look up from time to time and see his father sitting there. “He’s of no use any more,” the son thought to himself, “he doesn’t do anything!”
One day the son got so frustrated by this, that he built a wood coffin, dragged it over to the porch, and told his father to get in. Without saying anything, the father climbed inside. After closing the lid, the son dragged the coffin to the edge of the farm where there was a high cliff. As he approached the drop, he heard a light tapping on the lid from inside the coffin.
He opened it up. Still lying there peacefully, the father looked up at his son. “I know you are going to throw me over the cliff, but before you do, may I suggest something?”
“What is it?” replied the son.
“Throw me over the cliff, if you like,” said the father, “but save this good wood coffin… Your children might need to use it.”

Three robbers – by Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa

Three robbers – by Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa
Once, a man was going through a forest, when three robbers fell upon him and robbed him of all his possessions. One of the robbers said, “What’s the use of keeping this man alive?” So saying, he was about to kill him with his sword, when the second robber interrupted him, saying: ‘Oh, no! What is the use of killing him? Tie his hand and foot and leave him here.” The robbers bound his hands and feet and went away. After a while the third robber returned and said to the man: “Ah, I am sorry. Are you hurt? I will release you from your bonds.” After setting the man free, the thief said: “Come with me. I will take you to the public high way.” After a long time they reached the road. At this the man said: “Sir, you have been very good to me. Come with me to my house.” “Oh, no!” the robber replied. “I can’t go there. The police will know it.
“This world itself is the forest. The three robbers prowling here are Satva, Rajas, and Tamas. It is they that rob a man of the Knowledge of Truth. Tamas wants to destroy him. Rajas bind him to the world. But Satva rescues him from the clutches of rajas and tamas. Under the protection of Satva, man is rescued from anger, passion and other evil effects of tamas. Further, Satva loosens the bonds of the world. But Satva also is a robber. It cannot give man the ultimate Knowledge of Truth, though it shows him the road leading to the Supreme Abode of God. Setting him on the path, Satva tells him: “Look yonder. There is your home.” Even Satva is far away from the knowledge of Brahman.

Come- Sweet Death!

Come- Sweet Death!
People who live in or near forests of India often make their living by gathering firewood. They tie it into bundles which are slung over their shoulders and carry on their backs to a market-place. One day an old man, out in the woods alone was picking up sticks. He greedily made a pile so large that, when it was tied, he found it too heavy to lift. Sweating and groaning he tried in vain to get it onto his back; the market was far, and the coming of dusk forbade a second trip.
espair came over him. He thought of his pitiful in life — so full of labor and poverty and pain — and he began to long for death. Sitting on the ground he moaned and groaned and muttered to the god of Death to come and take him to the next world. Yama, in his mercy, heard the cry, appeared, and approached him in the forest.
“You summoned me?” said Yama, “What may I do for you?”
Getting nervous, the old man answered, “I — I just wanted you to help me put this load of wood onto my back!”
- Srimad Bhagavatam

The power of words

The power of words
A group of frogs were traveling through the woods, and two of them fell into a deep pit. When the other frogs saw how deep the pit was, they told the two frogs that they were as good as dead. The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump up out of the pit with all their might. The other frogs kept telling them to stop, that they were as good as dead. Finally, one of the frogs took heed to what the other frogs were saying and gave up. He fell down and died.

The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again, the crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and just die. He jumped even harder and finally made it out. When he got out, the other frogs said, “Did you not hear us?” The frog explained to them that he was deaf. He thought they were encouraging him the entire time.

This story teaches two lessons:

1. There is power of life and death in the tongue. An encouraging word to someone who is down can lift them up and help them make it through the day.

2. A destructive word to someone who is down can be what it takes to kill them.

Be careful of what you say. Speak life to those who cross your path. The power of words… it is sometimes hard to understand that an encouraging word can go such a long way. Anyone can speak words that tend to rob another of the spirit to continue in difficult times. Special is the individual who will take the time to encourage another.

Zen Stories

Obedience

The master Bankei's talks were attended not only by Zen students but by persons of all ranks and sects. He never quoted sutras nor indulged in scholastic dissertations. Instead, his words were spoken directly from his heart to the hearts of his listeners.
His large audience angered a priest of the Nichiren sect because the adherents had left to hear about Zen. The self-centered Nichiren priest came to the temple, determined to have a debate with Bankei.

"Hey, Zen teacher!" he called out. "Wait a minute. Whoever respects you will obey what you say, but a man like myself does not respect you. Can you make me obey you?"
"Come up beside me and I will show you," said Bankei.
Proudly the priest pushed his way through the crowd to the teacher.
Bankei smiled. "Come over to my left side."
The priest obeyed.
"No," said Bankei, "we may talk better if you are on the right side. Step over here."
The priest proudly stepped over to the right.
"You see," observed Bankei, "you are obeying me and I think you are a very gentle person. Now sit down and listen."



You can find many more Zen stories at John Suler's page and at 101 Zen stories.



Just for Fun

Two Zen monks were walking down the road.
First monk says: "These pine trees are magnificent."
The second monk slaps him across the face.
First monk: "Why did you do that?"
"I'm a Zen monk so I can get away with all kinds of weird stuff like that."

Why we shout when in anger

Why we shout when in anger
A Hindu saint who was visiting river Ganges to take bath found a group of family members on the banks, shouting in anger at each other. He turned to his disciples smiled and asked.
‘Why do people shout in anger shout at each other?’
Disciples thought for a while, one of them said, ‘Because we lose our calm, we shout.’
‘But, why should you shout when the other person is just next to you? You can as well tell him what you have to say in a soft manner.’ asked the saint
Disciples gave some other answers but none satisfied the other disciples.
Finally the saint explained, .
‘When two people are angry at each other, their hearts distance a lot. To cover that distance they must shout to be able to hear each other. The angrier they are, the stronger they will have to shout to hear each other to cover that great distance.
What happens when two people fall in love? They don’t shout at each other but talk softly, Because their hearts are very close. The distance between them is either nonexistent or very small…’
The saint continued, ‘When they love each other even more, what happens? They do not speak, only whisper and they get even closer to each other in their love. Finally they even need not whisper, they only look at each other and that’s all. That is how close two people are when they love each other.’
He looked at his disciples and said.
‘So when you argue do not let your hearts get distant, Do not say words that distance each other more, Or else there will come a day when the distance is so great that you will not find the path to return. They may end up in divorce courts, for instance.’