101 Zen Stories
101zenstories.com
101zenstories.com
http://www.ashidakim.com/zenkoans/zenindex.html
Did one of these sites copy the other? Or does it even matter?
I'm not sure how copyrights apply to excerpts, translations, edits and re-prints of presumably public-domain original works.
So at least it seems like this one is a bit better maintained or being taken care of.
with open(r"zen.html", "w") as f:
pat = re.compile(r'.*\<p class="header"\>(.*?)</p>.*!-- Display story -->(.*?)</div>', re.DOTALL)
for i in range(101):
url = "http://www.101zenstories.com/index.php?story=%s" % str(i + 1)
html = urlopen(url).read()
result = pat.match(html)
f.writelines(["<h2>%d. %s</h2>" % (i + 1, result.group(1)), result.group(2)])personal faves: http://www.101zenstories.com/index.php?story=6 * http://www.101zenstories.com/index.php?story=35
1. Don't worry so much, and don't let everything get to you. Most of it is inconsequential and out of your control anyway.
2. Be deliberate. Think about everything you do while you're doing it. That is to say, don't let your mind be on auto-pilot.
I think a lot of people try to force the idea of zen to be much deeper than it is, they spend all this time searching for some deep meaning, when it neither exists nor is the point or aim.
In Mahayana Buddhism, both wisdom and compassion are necessary for the Bodhisattva path: wisdom brings enlightenment, but compassion keeps you "in the world" (either literally or figuratively) to help guide others toward enlightenment (thereby liberating them from suffering).
Perhaps because of its deemphasis of the supernatural, Zen in particular emphasizes that enlightenment without compassion is possible, but useless, and not a worthy or admirable pursuit.
Compassion is seen as necessary to temper enlightenment, to keep oneself from becoming a nihilist or enlightened navel-gazer.
(Zen/Chán has historical basis for being concerned about this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisdom_in_Buddhism#Hui-neng)
The woman in the story sees that the monk's wisdom has liberated him from suffering, but his lack of compassion means that no one else will benefit from it.
She's angry because she thought she was investing in the monk to the betterment of mankind, but instead she finds that her donations have only benefited the monk.
That said, she-burning-him-down for her own poor investment judgment isn't pretty enlightened or compassionate herself, no? Why doesn't she "take it lightly", in a Zen sort of way?...
She's also justifiably angry. She just realized that she spent the fruits of her own decades of toil to cure a stranger's suffering, and that because of the monk's irresponsibility, the wisdom gained will die with him, and do nothing to ease humanity's suffering.
Even if she intended spend her money to help just one person, the money would be better spent on someone who is still capable of suffering.
And if the old monk hasn't actually attained enlightenment yet, then the money would be better spent on a less experienced monk much further from enlightenment, if he shows the signs of compassion that indicate that the wisdom he gains will be used to help mankind.
Why doesn't she "take it lightly", in a Zen sort of way?...
Zen isn't about taking things lightly. It's about figuring out what's important, and what's not worth worrying about. (Among other things).
Because of its roots in Mahayana Buddhism, helping everyone attain enlightenment and free themselves from suffering is very important.
And because Zen is largely agnostic towards the supernatural, including reincarnation, there is the idea that you probably only have one lifetime to (a) achieve enlightenment, and (b) help others to achieve enlightenment or at least mitigate their suffering.
So helping everyone attain enlightenment is not to save them from mythical torment in the Naraka hells, nor from the cycle of reincarnation, but rather to stop the recurring cycles of human suffering on Earth—to eventually make enlightenment available to every living person.
Story 6 is also an allusion to the parable of the burning house, which is about a father (an adult, representing someone who is enlightened) figuring out how to get his small children to drop their games and come running outside before the house burns down.
This is especially poignant in Zen, because if you attain enlightenment but do nothing to help ease the suffering of others, or at least transmit your understanding to someone who can, you have wasted your life, every minute of which is precious and irrecoverable. And hoarding enlightenment for yourself is very much like dying peacefully in your sleep while letting others burn to death.
In story 6, the monk has escaped the figurative burning house (overcoming his own suffering by attaining enlightenment in his lifetime), but has not done anything to rescue the children inside (ordinary laypeople who still suffer).
The old woman takes revenge by reversing the situation, in a more literal sense. Don't assume that the monk was outside the hut when it burned. >:)