Once, the Buddha’s disciples asked, “Why do the scholars and the hermits in Savatthi always argue about the eternal nature of the world, the soul and so on?” The Buddha explained, “Imagine what would happen if we gathered a group of blind men and tried to show them an elephant. Each one would be able […]
The people in King Brahmadatta’s kingdom were very superstitious. When they prayed to God, they always offered animal sacrifice, along with flowers and perfumes. They believed that God would not hear their prayers without the sacrifice. The king’s eldest son was very wise. He was a Bodhisattva in previous birth. He thought, ‘I must stop
Once, a farmer and a soldier became friends. The soldier asked the farmer, “What do you do all day?” The farmer replied, “I plough the fields and grow crops. When the time is ripe, I get busy with harvesting.” The soldier said, “That does not seem to be so challenging. Look at me. I go
Long ago, there lived a woman called Sujata. She was married to Ananda, the Blissful. The villagers had decided to build an inn for the travellers under Ananda’s directions. Sujata wanted to help the people, too. Since she was a woman, the villagers didn’t seek her help. One day, Sujata thought, ‘I must do whatever
A monk took care of a garden in a famous monastery. Just next to the monastery was another smaller monastery. An old master lived there. One day, some special guests were supposed to visit the big monastery. So, the monk spent a lot of time pulling out the weeds, trimming the shrubs, and arranging the
Once, there was a cruel and miserly king. One day, a monk came to his court and narrated a parable. He said, “Once, a wicked king ruled the Earth. Thus, Lord Indra came to the Earth in the form of a hunter with the Naraka Matali who appeared as a fierce dog. When the hunter
An old farmer worked on his field for many years. One day, the farmer’s horse named ‘Kanthaka’ ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbours said, “Bad luck!” “We’ll see,” the farmer replied. The next morning, Kanthaka returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. “How wonderful!” the neighbours said. “We’ll see,” replied the farmer.
The Bodhisattva took many births as an ascetic. But this time, he came as the most powerful ascetic in the world. He had many followers. During the same time, there was another ascetic who was envious of the Bodhisattva. He thought of a plan to remove the Bodhisattva from his path. He told one of
It was forbidden to talk in a monastery. The monks had to keep a vow of silence. However, every ten years, the monks were permitted to utter just two words. Thus, after ten years, the head monk allowed all the monks to say the two words. One monk said, “Bed hard.” “I see,” said the
Once, there was a famous monk. A number of disciples practised meditation under him. One day, one of the monk’s students went to him and said, “I am not able to meditate properly. I feel distracted. Sometimes, my legs start aching, or I fall asleep. I cannot concentrate. What should I do?” The monk smiled
Once, a man from a village heard that a Bodhisattva lived in a small house atop the mountain. The man decided to make the long and difficult journey to visit him. At the house, a servant greeted him at the door. The man told the servant, “I have heard a Bodhisattva lives here. I want
Once, there was a Bodhisattva. He was quite old, but the most enlightened man. He had many students who studied under him. One day, an infamous monk arrived in the village and challenged the Bodhisattva to discuss on a topic. The Bodhisattva gladly accepted the monk’s challenge. As the two prepared for the discussion, the
After ten years of apprenticeship with the famous master Nan-in, Tenno achieved the rank of Zen teacher. One day, it was raining when Tenno left to visit his master. When he walked into his master’s room, Nan-in asked him, “Did you leave your shoes and umbrella on the porch?” “Sure,” Tenno replied. “Tell me,” the
One day, the Bodhisattva announced to his disciples, “One of our young monks has reached an advanced state of enlightenment.” The news caused a stir and some excitement among the disciples. So, they decided to meet the enlightened monk and find out what he thought. “The master told us that you are enlightened. Is that
Once, there lived a very learned university professor. He had heard a lot about a Zen master and decided to pay him a visit. The professor met the Zen master and said, “I want to learn about Zen philosophy.” The Zen master invited the professor to sit down and have a cup of tea. He