This is a nice story but it is not a monastic story.
I'm thinking it first appeared in the '65-68's and was recounted by Paul
Reps. However, I may be overshadowed by brain fuzz on the orginal dates.
In any case this is a story about two monks - which is not the same as a
monastic story. Monastic stories are not designed to engage the mind. This is
one way you can tell which stories are created by and/or transmitted by
monastics. Monastic stories are not sentimental in any way but strike directly
at the heart (nous/intellectus). They are not descriptively rich but rather
sparse although they can also be funny. The narrative point of monastic stories
tends to reverberate for years in a pracitioner's psyche because the story
presents a discernment about the relationship between contemplation and action.
It is therefore not reducible to a state of noetic recognition but can only be
resolved by absorption into a station of being, ie. knowing by being.
Marek Reavis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Edg, a very nice retelling a great parable. I'd be interested to read
other re-writes you
might do.
Marek
**
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, Duveyoung <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> Many versions this story has been posted around the Web, and I've
> liked them so much that I put this tale into my own words.
>
> I post this as an effort to show that I have dealt with the nuances of
> drooling, and that "writing off Edg's morality as simple projection
> and sublimination" may not be the only way to sum up my stance on the
> morals involving relationships. After this story, I'll post another
> one with a correlative theme, and then we'll see if I have in any way
> tempered the perception that I'm a sublimnationist without clarity.
>
> Edg
>
> TWO MONKS
>
> An ancient story. Two student monks were walking in a town, ages ago,
> far away. They were both handsome young men, but they were serious
> about becoming absolutely aware of their inner spirits. The monastery
> in which they lived and took instruction had very strict rules of
> behavior for its students.
>
> A hot rain had been falling all morning, but at last the sun had come
> out, and everything was glistening with a coating of pure water. The
> marketplace was filled with noise and bustle, and the streets were
> very muddy. Only under the woven thatched awnings of the storefronts
> of the streets were there any dry paths.
>
> They came upon a lovely lady attired in expensive clothing, holding a
> delicate hand painted parasol. Everything about this woman was
> refined and spoke of wealth and knowledge of the world and its many ways.
>
> It was obvious to the monks that she was trying to cross the road
> without getting her clothes dirty, but it was impossible. She stood
> there in a perfect moment as the sun echoed in thousands of small
> puddles from foot and hoof prints. Suddenly, the taller of the monks
> swept the woman and her beauty up in his arms and carried her safely
> across the road.
>
> Afterwards, they went back to their monastery rooms to meditate before
> the evening's rituals. As they sat down together, the shorter monk
> finally spoke his mind, saying, "I cannot understand your actions! We
> are monks! We do not go near females -- especially beautiful women
> who are experienced with the ways of the life that we have put behind
> us. That was dangerous. Why did you do that?"
>
> The taller monk settled into his meditative pose, and just before he
> closed his eyes, he looked at his friend, and said, "I left the girl
> there on the side of the street. Are you still carrying her?"
>
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