Zen Stories

68. One Note of Zen
After Kakua visited the emperor he disappeared and no one knew what became of him. He was the first Japanese to study Zen in China, but since he showed nothing of it, save one note, he is not remembered for having brought Zen into his country.

Kakua visited China and accepted the true teaching. He did not travel while he was there. Meditating constantly, he lived on a remote part of a mountain.

Whenever people found him and asked him to preach he would say a few words and then move to another part of the mountain where he could be found less easily. The emperor heard about Kakua when he returned to Japan and asked him to preach Zen for his edification and that of his subjects.

Kakua stood before the emperor in silence. He then produced a flute from the folds of his robe and blew one short note. Bowing politely, he disappeared.

69. Eating the Blame
Circumstances arose one day which delayed preparation of the dinner of a Sate Zen master, Fugai, and his followers.

In haste the cook went to the garden with his curved knife and cut off the tops of green vegetables, chopped them together, and made soup, unaware that in his haste he had included a part of a snake in the vegetables.

The followers of Fugai thought they never had tasted such good soup. But when the master himself found the snake's head in his bowl, he summoned the cook, 'What is this?' he demanded, holding up the head of the snake.
'Oh, thank you, master,' replied the cook, taking the morsel and eating it quickly.’

70. The Most Valuable Thing in the World
Sozan, a Chinese Zen master, was asked by a student: 'What is the most valuable thing in the world?'
The master replied: The head of a dead cat.’

'Why is the head of a dead cat the most valuable thing in the world?' inquired the student. Sozan replied: ‘Because no one can name its price.’

71. Learning to be Silent
The pupils of the Tendai School used to study meditation before Zen entered Japan. Four of them who were intimate friends promised one another to observe seven days of silence.

On the first day all were silent Their meditation had begun auspiciously, but when night came and the oil-lamps were growing dim one of the pupils could not help exclaiming to a servant: 'Fix those lamps.'

The second pupil was surprised to hear the first one talk. 'We are not supposed to say a word,' he remarked.

'You two are stupid. Why did you talk?' asked the third.
‘I am the only one who has not talked,' muttered the fourth pupil.

72. The Blockhead Lord
Two Zen teachers Daigu and Gudo, were invited to visit a lord. Upon arriving, Gudo said to the lord: 'You are wise by nature and have an inborn ability to learn Zen.'

'Nonsense,' said Daigu ‘Why do you flatter this blockheads? He may be a lord, but he doesn't know anything of Zen.' So, instead of building a temple for Gudo the lord built it for Daigu and studied Zen with him.