Category: Stories

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Fire

One night, the old master lay in bed, knowing that his  time was near. He called his disciple over and said, “Before I die, I want you to know that you will be my successor. I have here a journal that has passed through seven generations of masters. Each one has added to the journal his own thoughts and insights into the Truth. Here, take this.”

“Master,” replied the disciple, “I have learned the Truth from you without the aid of any journal. I have no need of it.”

“Nevertheless,” said the master, “I want you to have it as a symbol that I have passed my knowledge and authority to you.”

The disciple then bowed and took the journal from the master’s outstretched hand. It did not stay in his hand for long as he promptly threw it into the fire that was keeping them warm.

At this, the master leaped up and shouted, “Are you insane? What are you doing? That was the knowledge of seven generations!”

The disciple replied, “You must be insane yourself. What are you saying?”

At this, the master clapped a hand on the disciple’s shoulder, and laughed long and hard until he had to lie down. In a moment, he passed away.

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The Party

Some wealthy and influential people had heard about the master and they wanted to meet him, so they sent a messenger to invite him to a special banquet.

The master arrived at the party wearing beggar’s robes and the people were immediately repulsed and shooed him away. He immediately went home, washed his face, put on an expensive cloak, and returned to the party where he was immediately ushered into the circle of the rich and powerful.

He bowed to them, took off his cloak and draped it on his seat.

“I showed up a while ago but you shooed me away, so I hope you enjoy talking to the cloak because you have obviously sent your invitation to it, and not to me.”

And he walked away.

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Surrender

The seeker approached the master and said, “I am ready to give up everything in order to find out the truth about God. I will give up my job, my money, my family, everything. Tell me, what must I do?”

“That is all well and good but there is one more thing you must give up for you to continue you quest,” said the master.

“And what is that?” said the seeker.

“You must give up your beliefs about God,” said the master.

“But why? I am trying to find God and you tell me to give up my belief?” said the seeker. He was shocked at the idea.

The master replied, “Your belief, your concept about God is the very thing that is hindering you from seeing him. Every time you say or hear the word ‘God’, it conforms to what you believe God to be. But a God who is contained in your definition about him is not the real God. A God who can reside in the finite space of your mind cannot be the infinite God.”

“Drop all your concepts of God. See reality as it is, unfiltered by the colored lenses of your beliefs. That is the only time true seeking can begin.” concluded the master.

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Non-clinging

The master declared,

“The journey of life is thus:

Imagine yourself and everything you possess falling from a very high cliff.

While falling, you reach out and grab hold of the things around you to stop your fall.

But everything around you is also falling.”

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What Is More Sacred?

The master got caught in a heavy rain one night and was soaking wet when he saw a Buddhist monastery nearby. He knocked hard on the gates until a monk came and opened the gate.

“What do you want?” the monk asked, thinking that the drenched figure was a beggar.

“I just need a place to stay out of the rain,” said the master. “May I stay here for the night?”

“No, I’m sorry but this isn’t an inn,” said the monk.

“Please, let me just stay in the temple hall. I can sleep on the floor and be gone early in the morning,” said the master.

The monk considered this for a moment, and in a stern voice said, “Okay, but you better be out of here before the other monks come for their morning prayers.”

“Of course,” answered the master.

A few hours later, that same monk woke up earlier than usual to check and make sure that the unwanted guest would indeed leave early.

photo by topbanana
photo by topbanana

When he entered the temple area, he saw the master huddled on the floor with the dying embers of a small campfire by his side. The monk wondered where the man got wood for a fire when he suddenly saw an empty space where a wooden Buddha statue had once been. Horrified, the monk shook the master.

“Hey, you there! Wake up! What have you done? You burned the Buddha! You burned the Buddha!” cried the monk.

The master woke up and hearing the accusations of the angry monk, picked up his walking stick and sifted through the embers of the dying fire.

“Now what are you doing? Didn’t you hear me? You did a terrible thing! You burned the Buddha!” said the monk.

“What are you talking about?” said the master. “I don’t see the bones of this Buddha among the ashes. You must be a very bad monk, because you regard a lifeless statue as more sacred than a live person.”