Buddhism has used parables, anecdotes, fables, and tales to help people expand their consciousness by offering them enlightening insights and moral life lessons. This culminates in Zen Buddhism, a tradition famous for using short stories to help Buddhist students develop a deeper understanding of reality.
A Useless Life
A farmer got so old that he couldn’t work the fields anymore.
- He built a wood coffin and dragged it over to the porch, and told his son to get in
- Without saying anything, the father climbed inside and closed the lid
- 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 and opened it up
Time to Die
Ikkyu, the Zen master, was very clever even as a boy.
It Will Pass
It will pass.
Cliffhanger
A man ran from a tiger and came to the edge of a cliff, dangling precariously on a vine, when two mice appeared from a hole in the cliff and began gnawing on the vine.
- He plucked a plump wild strawberry and popped it in his mouth. It was incredibly delicious.
The Gates of Paradise
A soldier named Nobushige came to Hakuin, and asked: “Is there really a paradise and a hell?”
- Hakuin remarked: “Here open the gates of paradise,” said Hakuin.
- At these words the samurai, perceiving the master’s discipline, sheathed his sword and bowed.
Working Very Hard
Dedicated students should work very hard to master a skill. They should practice every day, ten or more hours a day if they can, and try to improve their technique over time.
The Other Side
A young Buddhist on his journey home came to the banks of a wide river.
- He yells over to the teacher, “Oh wise one, can you tell me how to get to the other side of this river”? The teacher ponders for a moment, looks up and down the river and yells back, “My son, you are on the other – side”.
Moving Mind
Mind is the only thing that moves.
The Moon Cannot Be Stolen
Ryokan, a Zen master, lived the simplest kind of life in a little hut at the foot of a mountain
- One evening a thief visited the hut only to discover there was nothing in it to steal.
- “You may have come a long way to visit me,” he told the prowler, “and you shoud not return emptyhanded. Please take my clothes as a gift.”
A Cup of Tea
Nan-in, a Japanese master, served tea to a professor who came to inquire about Zen. He poured his visitor’s cup full, and then kept on pouring.
