Anthony,
These zen stories are not to be taken too literally. For example in the story about Joshu lying in the snow, I’m sure the other monk knew he was not really hurt. Also, in the story about Nanzen killing the cat, I’m also sure he did not really kill a cat. …Bill! From: Zen_Forum@yahoogroups.com [mailto:zen_fo...@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Anthony Wu Sent: Friday, July 16, 2010 5:24 AM To: Zen_Forum@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [Zen] Re: From The Gateless Gate Artie, Certainly you have a valid way of treating someone with a broken heart. But when Joshu fell in the snow, he pretended to be physically hurt, and his fellow monk just lay down by his side, without any attempt to pull him out of the snow. Suddenly Joshu got up just like nothing had happened. The episode sounds like a bad joke to me. However, zen literature is full of bad jokes. For instance, the same Joshu put his shoe on his head, which would have saved the cat killed by his teacher Nanzen. Probably Joshu fallen in the snow has another meaning. Anthony --- On Thu, 15/7/10, roloro1557 <roloro1...@yahoo.com> wrote: From: roloro1557 <roloro1...@yahoo.com> Subject: [Zen] Re: From The Gateless Gate To: Zen_Forum@yahoogroups.com Date: Thursday, 15 July, 2010, 4:27 PM Hi Anthony :-) I think what the Joshu anecdote is saying is that we truly can't help people in the things that really matter~ internal things, "spiritual" (sorry to have to use that word) things. . . . We can certainly give food to the hungry, shelter to the homeless, etc. And if we can see that someone is suffering because of internal and/or spiritual things we can certainly offer our hand. We can certainly say that we know what it is like to hurt and be sensitive to that persons hurting~~ we are aware of it, we acknowledge it, and we care. Perhaps a better way to say it is like this: If you break your arm, I can splint it and bind it and put your arm in a sling and give you aspirin. Most likely you will mend and recover just fine. If you have a broken heart, emotionally speaking, the pain may be much more devastating than the physical pain of a broken arm. With a broken heart, however, there is nothing to splint or bind, and aspirin won't help. I can't fix that. But what I can do is say, "Yes, I see your heart is broken, I know you are hurting because I have been broken-hearted too. I am so very sorry for your pain." Being able to say that is our humanity and our compassion, or at least a part of humanity and compassion. I hope this makes sense. Words can be so difficult. Artie :-) --- In Zen_Forum@yahoogroups.com <http://sg.mc761.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=Zen_Forum%40yahoogroups.com> , Anthony Wu <wu...@...> wrote: > > Artie, > > You are already a bodhisatva. If everybody is, rules and laws are redundent > in this world. Unfortunately, the majority is far from it. > > I don't quite understand the Joshu anecdote. Does it mean it suffices just to > show compassion, without really pulling someone out of trouble? If that is > so, I have trouble agreeing. __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 5282 (20100715) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 5282 (20100715) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com
