"Where Can I Find a Man Who Has Forgotten Words?" by Chuang Tzu
“The purpose of a fish trap
is to catch fish,
and when the fish are caught
the trap is forgotten.
The purpose of a rabbit snare
is to catch rabbits.
"Taming the Mind" — Zen Parable
After winning several archery contests, the young and rather boastful champion challenged a Zen master who was renowned for his skill as an archer. The young man demonstrated remarkable technical proficiency when he hit a distant bull's eye on his first try, and then split that arrow with his second shot.
"If You Love, Love Openly" — Zen Story
Twenty monks and one nun, who was named Eshun, were practicing meditation with a certain Zen master.
Eshun was very pretty even though her head was shaved and her dress plain.
Several monks secretly fell in love with her.
"Moving to a New City" (a parable) —Unknown
There was a person coming to a new village, re-locating, and he was wondering if he would like it there, so he went to the zen master and asked: do you think I will like it in this village?
Are the people nice?
The master asked back: "How were the people on the town where you come from?"
"The Pointer" — a Zen Story
The Zen teacher’s dog loved his evening romp with his master.
The dog would bound ahead to fetch a stick, then run back, wag his tail, and wait for the next game.
On this particular evening, the teacher invited one of his brightest students to join him – a boy so intelligent that he became troubled by the contradictions in Buddhist doctrine.
"The Wise Woman’s Stone" - Author Unknown
A wise woman who was traveling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveler who was hungry, and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the precious stone and asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without hesitation. The traveler left, rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime. But a few days later he came back to return the stone to the wise woman.
“Right and Wrong — Unknown
When Bankei held his seclusion-weeks of meditation, pupils from many parts of Japan came to attend. During one of these gatherings a pupil was caught stealing. The matter was reported to Bankei with the request that the culprit be expelled. Bankei ignored the case.
"Buddha's Flower Sermon "
"Toward the end of his life, the Buddha took his disciples to a quiet pond for instruction. As they had done so many times before, the Buddha’s followers sat in a small circle around him, and waited for the teaching.
"The Waves and the Ocean are One - We and God are One" by Atman Nityananda
The waves are one with the ocean. Both are sea water. The waves are only an expression of the ocean. The ocean is permanent and the waves are impermanent. The ocean is the substratum and the waves the phenomenon that appears due to and in the substratum. But the waves never stop to be the ocean.
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"The River" (excerpt) by Herman Hesse
I am only a ferryman and it is my task to take people across this river. I have taken thousands of people across and to all of them my river has been nothing but a hindrance on their journey. They have travelled for money and business, to weddings and on pilgrimages; the river has been in their way and the ferryman was there to take them quickly across the obstacle.