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    Four Zen Stories

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    Hins Sakwen
    The husband's late wife returns as a ghost to haunt him for breaking his promise not to see other women. She knows every detail of his conversations and interactions, preventing him from sleeping. A Zen master advises pretending to admire the ghost's wisdom and challenging it to count beans in his hand. When it cannot, the ghost disappears, never to return.

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    Four Zen Stories

    Uploaded by

    Hins Sakwen
    39 views2 pages
    The husband's late wife returns as a ghost to haunt him for breaking his promise not to see other women. She knows every detail of his conversations and interactions, preventing him from sleeping. A Zen master advises pretending to admire the ghost's wisdom and challenging it to count beans in his hand. When it cannot, the ghost disappears, never to return.

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    four spiritual stories from the zen tradition

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    four zen stories

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    The husband's late wife returns as a ghost to haunt him for breaking his promise not to see other women. She knows every detail of his conversations and interactions, preventing him from sleeping. A Zen master advises pretending to admire the ghost's wisdom and challenging it to count beans in his hand. When it cannot, the ghost disappears, never to return.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    39 views2 pages

    Four Zen Stories

    Uploaded by

    Hins Sakwen
    The husband's late wife returns as a ghost to haunt him for breaking his promise not to see other women. She knows every detail of his conversations and interactions, preventing him from sleeping. A Zen master advises pretending to admire the ghost's wisdom and challenging it to count beans in his hand. When it cannot, the ghost disappears, never to return.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    Banishing a Ghost

    The wife of a man became very sick. On her deathbed, she said to him, "I love you so much! I
    don't want to leave you, and I don't want you to betray me. Promise that you will not see any
    other women once I die, or I will come back to haunt you."

    For several months after her death, the husband did avoid other women, but then he met
    someone and fell in love. On the night that they were engaged to be married, the ghost of his
    former wife appeared to him. She blamed him for not keeping the promise, and every night
    thereafter she returned to taunt him. The ghost would remind him of everything that
    transpired between him and his fiancee that day, even to the point of repeating, word for word,
    their conversations. It upset him so badly that he couldn't sleep at all.

    Desperate, he sought the advice of a Zen master who lived near the village. "This is a very
    clever ghost," the master said upon hearing the man's story. "It is!" replied the man. "She
    remembers every detail of what I say and do. It knows everything!" The master smiled, "You
    should admire such a ghost, but I will tell you what to do the next time you see it."

    That night the ghost returned. The man responded just as the master had advised. "You are
    such a wise ghost," the man said, "You know that I can hide nothing from you. If you can
    answer me one question, I will break off the engagement and remain single for the rest of my
    life." "Ask your question," the ghost replied. The man scooped up a handful of beans from a
    large bag on the floor, "Tell me exactly how many beans there are in my hand."

    At that moment the ghost disappeared and never returned.

    Holy Man
    Word spread across the countryside about the wise Holy Man who lived in a small house atop
    the mountain. A man from the village decided to make the long and difficult journey to visit
    him. When he arrived at the house, he saw an old servant inside who greeted him at the door.
    "I would like to see the wise Holy Man," he said to the servant. The servant smiled and led him
    inside. As they walked through the house, the man from the village looked eagerly around the
    house, anticipating his encounter with the Holy Man. Before he knew it, he had been led to the
    back door and escorted outside. He stopped and turned to the servant, "But I want to see the
    Holy Man!"

    "You already have," said the old man. "Everyone you may meet in life, even if they appear plain
    and insignificant... see each of them as a wise Holy Man. If you do this, then whatever problem
    you brought here today will be solved."
    Enlightened
    One day the Master announced that a young monk had reached an advanced state of
    enlightment. The news caused some stir. Some of the monks went to see the young monk. "We
    heard you are enlightened. Is that true?" they asked.
    "It is," he replied.

    "And how do you feel?"

    "As miserable as ever," said the monk.

    EGOTISM
    The Prime Minister of the Tang Dynasty was a national hero for his success as both a statesman
    and military leader. But despite his fame, power, and wealth, he considered himself a humble
    and devout Buddhist. Often he visited his favorite Zen master to study under him, and they
    seemed to get along very well. The fact that he was prime minister apparently had no effect on
    their relationship, which seemed to be simply one of a revered master and respectful student.

    One day, during his usual visit, the Prime Minister asked the master, "Your Reverence, what is
    egotism according to Buddhism?" The master's face turned red, and in a very condescending
    and insulting tone of voice, he shot back, "What kind of stupid question is that!?"

    This unexpected response so shocked the Prime Minister that he became sullen and angry. The
    Zen master then smiled and said, "THIS, Your Excellency, is egotism."

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