Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.
Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor's 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?"
Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.
Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor's 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?"
Buddha said: "I consider the positions of kings and rulers as that of dust motes. I observe treasures of gold and gems as so many bricks and pebbles. I look upon the finest silken robes as tattered rags. I see myriad worlds of the universe as small seeds of fruit, and the greatest lake in India as a drop of oil on my foot.
I perceive the teachings of the world to be the illusion of magicians. I discern the highest conception of emancipation as a golden brocade in a dream, and view the holy path of the illuminated ones as flowers appearing in one's eyes. I see meditation as a pillar of a mountain, Nirvana as a nightmare of daytime. I look upon the judgment of right and wrong as the serpentine dance of a dragon, and the rise and fall of beliefs as but traces left by the four seasons."
It was the sixteenth day of the seventh lunar month, the day when the ninety-
day summer training period ended and the monks left the temple to travel
about as they chose.
A monk asked "Today is the sixteenth;' what about it?"
The master said, "East is east, west is west."
The monk said, "What is 'east is east, west is west'?"
The master said, "Seek but you will not find."
It was the sixteenth day of the seventh lunar month, the day when the ninety-
day summer training period ended and the monks left the temple to travel
about as they chose.
A monk asked "Today is the sixteenth;' what about it?"
The master said, "East is east, west is west."
The monk said, "What is 'east is east, west is west'?"
The master said, "Seek but you will not find."
It was the sixteenth day of the seventh lunar month, the day when the ninety-
day summer training period ended and the monks left the temple to travel
about as they chose.
A monk asked "Today is the sixteenth;' what about it?"
The master said, "East is east, west is west."
The monk said, "What is 'east is east, west is west'?"
The master said, "Seek but you will not find."
A monk asked, "Does a dog have a Buddha-nature or not?"
The master said, "Not [Mu]!"
The monk said, "Above to all the Buddhas, below to the crawling bugs, all have Buddha-nature. Why is it that the dog has not?"
The master said, "Because he has the nature of karmic delusions"
A monk asked, "What about it when the mind is not perceived by
the mind [itself]?"
The master said, "Who is perceived?"
The monk said, "The self is perceived."
The master said, "There are not two (selves)."
Sekishu onjō (sekishu no onjō) ... Two hands clap and there is a sound. What is the sound of one hand?
Two monks are arguing about a flag. One says, “The flag is moving.” The other, “The wind is moving.” A third walks by and says, “Not the wind, not the flag; the mind is moving.”
Two Monks and a Woman
A senior and novice monk were traveling through the countryside when they came upon a river. The river was swollen making it very difficult to pass. Standing at the edge of the river was a lovely, young woman in elegant clothes unsure of how to get across. She asked the monks for help.
After barely a pause, the senior monk picked up the woman and carried her across.
The novice monk was shocked and speechless. As the monks continued their journey hours passed and no one spoke until the younger monk could no longer contain himself.
“How could you carry that woman across the river when we aren’t even supposed to look at women?” he blurted out in frustration.
The senior monk replied, “I set that woman down hours ago. Why are you still carrying her?”
