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?"

Die without blinking an Eye

During the civil wars in feudal Japan, an invading army would
quickly sweep into a town and take control. In one particular
village, everyone fled just before the army arrived - everyone
except the Zen master. Curious about this old fellow, the
general went to the temple to see for himself what kind of man
this master was. When he wasn't treated with the deference
and submissiveness to which he was accustomed, the general
burst into anger. "You fool," he shouted as he reached for his
sword, "don't you realize you are standing before a man who
could run you through without blinking an eye!" But despite the
threat, the master seemed unmoved. "And do you realize," the
master replied calmly, "that you are standing before a man
who can be run through without blinking an eye?"

Tea or Iron

The Zen master Hakuin used to tell his students about an old
woman who owned a tea shop in the village. She was skilled
in the tea ceremony, Hakuin said, and her understanding of Zen
was superb. Many students wondered about this and went to
the village themselves to check her out. Whenever the old
woman saw them coming, she could tell immediately whether
they had come to experience the tea, or to probe her grasp
of Zen. Those wanting tea she served graciously. For the others
wanting to learn about her Zen knowledge, she hid until they
approached her door and then attacked them with a fire poker.
Only one out of ten managed to escape her beating.

The Present Moment

A Japanese warrior was captured by his enemies and thrown
into prison. That night he was unable to sleep because he feared
that the next day he would be interrogated, tortured, and
executed. Then the words of his Zen master came to him,
"Tomorrow is not real. It is an illusion. The only reality is now."
Heeding these words, the warrior became peaceful and fell asleep.

The Moon and the Thief

A Zen Master lived the simplest kind of life in a little hut at
the foot of a mountain. One evening, while he was away,
a thief sneaked into the hut only to find there was nothing
in it to steal. The Zen Master returned and found him.
"You have come a long way to visit me," he told the
prowler, "and you should not return empty handed.
Please take my clothes as a gift." The thief was
bewildered, but he took the clothes and ran away.
The Master sat naked, watching the moon.
"Poor fellow," he mused,
" I wish I could give him this beautiful moon."

May be

There is a Taoist story of an old farmer who had worked his crops for
many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his
neighbors came to visit. "Such bad luck," they said sympathetically.
"May be," the farmer replied. The next morning the horse returned,
bringing with it three other wild horses. "How wonderful," the neighbors
exclaimed. "May be," 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 misfortune. "May
be," answered the farmer. The day after, military officials came to the
village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son's leg was
broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on
how well things had turned out. "May be," said the farmer.

Knowing Fish

One day Chuang Tzu and a friend were walking by a river.
"Look at the fish swimming about," said Chuang Tzu, "They are really
enjoying themselves."
"You are not a fish," replied the friend, "So you can't truly know that
they are enjoying themselves."
"You are not me," said Chuang Tzu. "So how do you know that I do not
know that the fish are enjoying themselves?"