Learn more about personaldevelopment with this collection
How to prioritize and simplify your life
The importance of rest and relaxation
The benefits of slowing down
Short Zen Stories: An Old Farmer
A farmer, who got really old,was useless in the fields where his son worked. A frustrated son built a wooden coffin and told his father to get inside, planning to drop him off a high cliff.
As the son approached the cliff, his father tapped the lid, and said “Throw me over the cliff if you like my son, but save this good wood coffin, as your children might need to use it”.
45
407 reads
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Short Zen Stories: It Will Pass
A meditation teacher explained the similarity between happiness and sadness over this:
A student is feeling bad because the meditation experience was horrible. The teacher calmly replies ‘It will pass.’.
A week after, the student is delighted because the meditation experience was gr...
44
247 reads
Short Zen Stories: The Other Side
While on a long journey, a young Buddhist comes across the banks of a deep, wide river. He doesn’t know how to cross the big obstacle and ponders for hours. He sees a Zen master on the other side of the river. He yells to the master “Oh wise one, can you tell me how to cross this river and ge...
41
191 reads
Short Zen Stories: Working Harder
A martial arts master was approached by a student, who asked him how long it would take him to master the martial arts system.
The master casually said “Ten years” to which the impatient student replied that he wants to master is faster and would work extremely hard for ten hours or more i...
47
310 reads
Short Zen Stories: A Cup Of Tea
A university professor came to visit Nan-in, a japanese master, to enquire about Zen. As Nan-in served tea he deliberately overflowed the cup and kept spilling the tea, much to the surprise of the professor.
When the professor finally called out that the cup is already full, Nan-in said
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255 reads
Short Zen Stories: The Gates Of Paradise
A soldier comes to a Zen Master and inquires if there is really a paradise and a hell. The Zen master asks the soldier who he is, and the soldier replies ‘I’m a Samurai’.
The Zen master then provokes the soldier till he loses his temper and draws his sword, ready to cut the head of the mas...
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228 reads
Short Zen Stories: Time To Die
When Ikkiyu, a Zen master, was a teenager, he accidently broke a precious cup which was a favourite antique of his master. When he heard the footsteps of his master from behind, he quickly asked him, ‘Dear master, why do people have to die?’
The old master replied, ‘Death is n...
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204 reads
Short Zen Stories: Cliffhanger
A man, walking through the forest, finds a vicious tiger attacking him. As he runs, he is cornered and climbs a vine which is dangling above the tiger.
Two mice start gnawing the vine and it is clear that in a short while he will be food to the tiger. He notices a plump wild strawberry and...
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291 reads
Short Zen Stories: Moving Mind
Two men saw a flag flapping in the wind and were on loggerheads over whether it was the flag which is moving, or the wind which is moving.
A Zen master overheard the debate over the trivial matter and said, ‘It is neither the flag or the wind which is moving, and it is the MIND that mo...
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188 reads
Short Zen Stories: The Moon Cannot Be Stolen
Ryokan, a Zen Master, was living a minimalist life in a hut on a mountain. A thief came and saw there is nothing to steal.
Ryokan caught the thief but gave him his clothes so that he did go away empty-handed. Once the bewildered thief was gone, Ryokan mused about how he wished he could ha...
41
270 reads
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A Useless Life
An old farmer that couldn’t work anymore spent days sitting on the porch. His son, still working the farm, got so aggravated that his father was useless, that he built a wood coffin and told his father to get in. The son closed and dragged the coffin to a high cliff , where he heard a tapping ...
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