آزار ذهن
دو رهرو در حین سفر به یک رودخانه رسیدند، زنِ جوانی را در آنجا دیدند. آن زن نمی توانست از رودخانه بگذرد، از آنها خواهش کرد اگر امکانش باشد او را به آن طرف آب ببرند .
یکی از رهرو ها مردٌد بود ولی دیگری سریعن او را روی شانه هایش از میان آب حمل کرد و در ساحل آن طرف به زمینش نهاد ،آن زن از او سپاسگزاری کرد و رفت.
هم چنان که آنها به راهشان ادامه می دادند،یک رهرو حسابی فکر ش مشغول و پریشان بود و نمی توانست ساکت باشد و به حرف آمدو پرسید، "برادر ، آموزش روحانی ما می گوید، از هر گونه تماس با زنان دوری کنیم ، ولی تو آن زن را روی شانه هایت به آن سوی آب حمل کردی! "
دیگر رهرو پاسخ داد:"من او را در آن سوی آب بر زمین نهادم و در صورتی که تو هنوز مشغول حمل او هستی! "
Two traveling monks reached a river where they met a young woman. Wary of the current, she asked if they could carry her across. One of the monks hesitated, but the other quickly picked her up onto his shoulders, transported her across the water, and put her down on the other bank. She thanked him and departed.
As the monks continued on their way, the one was brooding and preoccupied. Unable to hold his silence, he spoke out. "Brother, our spiritual training teaches us to avoid any contact with women, but you picked that one up on your shoulders and carried her!"
"Brother," the second monk replied, "I set her down on the other side, while you are still carrying her."
هم چنان که آنها به راهشان ادامه می دادند،یک رهرو حسابی فکر ش مشغول و پریشان بود و نمی توانست ساکت باشد و به حرف آمدو پرسید، "برادر ، آموزش روحانی ما می گوید، از هر گونه تماس با زنان دوری کنیم ، ولی تو آن زن را روی شانه هایت به آن سوی آب حمل کردی! "
دیگر رهرو پاسخ داد:"من او را در آن سوی آب بر زمین نهادم و در صورتی که تو هنوز مشغول حمل او هستی! "
Elephant and Flea
Elephant and Flea
Roshi Kapleau agreed to educate a group of psychoanalysts about Zen. After being introduced to the group by the director of the analytic institute, the Roshi quietly sat down upon a cushion placed on the floor. A student entered, prostrated before the master, and then seated himself on another cushion a few feet away, facing his teacher. "What is Zen?" the student asked. The Roshi produced a banana, peeled it, and started eating. "Is that all? Can't you show me anything else?" the student said. "Come closer, please," the master replied. The student moved in and the Roshi waved the remaining portion of the banana before the student's face. The student prostrated, and left.
A second student rose to address the audience. "Do you all understand?" When there was no response, the student added, "You have just witnessed a first-rate demonstration of Zen. Are there any questions?"
After a long silence, someone spoke up. "Roshi, I am not satisfied with your demonstration. You have shown us something that I am not sure I understand. It must be possible to TELL us what Zen is."
"If you must insist on words," the Roshi replied, "then Zen is an elephant copulating with a flea."
People's reactions to this story:
"What an image this story brings to mind! I see that the infinite universe as large as that may be, is equally matched by the infinite microscopic world, joining the two in perfect harmony."
"On a first reading, the final line suggests that Zen is profane or absurd. Surely this cannot be what the Roshi intended to convey. Perhaps what the Roshi means is that putting Zen into words is profane or absurd."
"Some things are better learned through observation....Words only skew ones ability to establish an honest and personal opinion."
"Describe the colour red to a man who has been blind from birth. Zen is more than words, fitting it into the confinement of language is like an elephant trying to copulate with a flea. It just wouldn't fit."
"Zen is Zen and if you understood it you would not ask."
"He is saying in symbolism how futile it is to understand Zen if you believe you can learn it through words when the only way to truly understand is through actions and feelings. This story realy makes you think."
"Maybe Its inconceivable!"
"To attempt to put Zen into words is as impossible as an elephant copulating with a Flea."
"On top of a flagpole a cow gives birth to a calf."
"My reaction to the story is that trying to explain Zen in words, or even with observations, is as impossible as an 'elephant copulation with a flea.' Also, to be able to explain meaning of Zen in words is an admission that one does not understand the meaning of Zen."
"This reminds me of the story of the Master who asked his student to comment on a skein of geese flying overhead. The student said they were flying South for winter - the Master beat him. The student then said they were coming from the North and the same happened. he tried again and again and each time the student's attempt at description was rewarded with a beating. The point being that the student could not describe what he saw only what his belief systems told him what the geese might be doing. Words are often not sufficient, observation and inner understanding may be the only path."
"The Roshi's imagery is spot on: Zen is impossible to explain in the talk, talk, talk of psycoanalysis."
"The Roshi was certainly in a state of transe when he ate the banana because of its taste. Then he wanted to share its smell, waving it to the student. But the student didn't used the right sense and expected an answer from his ears instead of his nose. Anyway the one that was enlightened in this story was certainly the flea...."
"This story is kind-of confusing, but I think it's saying that actions speak louder than words. If only people would stop and listen."
"What I'd like to know is, was the flea on top?"
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Gutei's Finger
Gutei's Finger
Whenever anyone asked him about Zen, the great master Gutei would quietly raise one finger into the air. A boy in the village began to imitate this behavior. Whenever he heard people talking about Gutei's teachings, he would interrupt the discussion and raise his finger. Gutei heard about the boy's mischief. When he saw him in the street, he seized him and cut off his finger. The boy cried and began to run off, but Gutei called out to him. When the boy turned to look, Gutei raised his finger into the air. At that moment the boy became enlightened.
People's reactions to this story:
"I don't get this at all."
"I guess Gutei doesn't believe that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."
"I like this story, for some reason, but I don't know what it means."
"Gutei is just trying to dominate and control the kid."
"Whose finger did Gutei hold up at the end - the boy's or his own?"
"Did the boy become enlightened because of Gutei, or just because his finger got cut off."
"This story hurts!"
"Yuck!"
"Weird!"
"You can't imitate or own enlightenment."
"Imitation is no substitute for real knowledge and truth."
"When you lose the single most important thing that means enlightenment to you, maybe that's when you REALLY become enlightened."
"You don't know what you've got till it's gone."
"I don't entirely understand this story, but I do believe that the finger pointed in the air might represent "one", as in "not two"..
"In the end the boy realized Gutei uses his index finger, not his middle finger. Gutei took exception to the boy using his middle finger."
"I sense that this story does tell a great truth, but I just can't see it in the darkness inside my head. I guess if I were enlightened, I could."
"When you can no longer point at truth, maybe that's when you see it most clearly."
"Stories like this make me want to lash out. Gutei becomes the enlightener, when maybe he should just lighten up. Now we know the reason for lawyers, To sew crazy old self appointed wise men that carry pocket knives."
John Suler, Ph.D. ? 1997 All rights reserved.