Zen anecdotes

The famous Zen and patriarch: Sosan says: The path is not difficult for those who have no preferences, when both, love and hate are absent everything becomes clear Nevertheless if you make the slightest distinction the heaven and earth become infinitely distant If you want to know the truth avoid having an opinion nor in favor nor against

The struggle between what one likes and what one dislikes is the mind´s desease

Rinzai´s words are: If you meet Buddha behead him, if you meet a patriarch behead him, if you meet your parents behead them and if you meet your relatives behead them, Only in this way you will be liberated, and if you are not dominated by the external you will be detached and independent

One disciple asked Sosan, who is a Zen master: According to the scriptures all beings possess Buddha nature, how come they don't know? To which Sosan replied: They do know

This says that we are trying to avoid the truth, by all means, through our mind, truth that has always been here with us

Hui-neng another Zen master, who spent many years going unnoticed in a Zen monastery commented: The mind is not a mirror at all where dust can be collected, who knows this, knows it for real

Zen Master Hakuin's neighbors respected him as one who led a pure life

Some day a pretty girl, who lived near Hakuin, was found to be pregnant, her parents got angry, at first the girl did not want to say who the father was but later, after a while, she said his name was Hakuin

The parents, who were really angry, went to the master´s but he just said ¨Oh, am I?¨ After the child was born, was delivered to Hakuin who had already lost his reputation by then, although it did not seem to affect him that much

Hakuin took good care of him, got him milk, food and everything the boy needed he asked his neighbours for help

The young girl couldn't take it anymore so she told the truth, what really happened to her parents

The real father was a boy who worked in the fish market

The mother and father immediately went to tell the story to Hakuin, they made an excuse and after asking for forgiveness they wanted to get the child back

so Hakuin handed over the child to them, and without asking, said: ¨Oh, is he?¨