ED, Mark Twain's message is, 'you are a lot better off stopping halfway. Anthony
________________________________ From: ED <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Monday, 20 August 2012, 6:04 Subject: Re: [Zen] to be fox or not to be or what? Anthony, ... and what is Mark Twain's message? --ED --- In [email protected], Anthony Wu <wuasg@...> wrote: > Ed, The message is as follows: Once a limping dog with a leg wound came to a doctor, and the latter cured him. The next day the dog brought another limping dog with the same leg wound, and the doctor cured it and said, 'how caring is the dog and we should be compassionate to animals.' That is also half the story, because it followed that the two dogs brought two others and the man had to cure two more. The next day the doctor saw eight animals come to his house, and then sixteen of them visited... until several dozens showed up the the man was bitten by one of them that had rabies. That is Mark Twain's zen story. Anthony Bill! and All, Zenist word games are cute! But, in your opinion, what is the message? --ED --- In [email protected], "Bill!" <BillSmart@...> wrote: > > Anthony, > > You only told half the story... > > After Hyakujo had buried the fox one of his students (Obaku)asked him, 'If > the old man who had been turned into a fox had originally answered correctly, > what then?' Hyakujo replied, 'Come closer and I'll tell you.' As Obaku > aproached he reached out and pinched Hyakujo's nose. At that Hyakujo clapped > his hands and exclaimed, 'I thought the barbarian's beard was red, but here > is a barbarian with a red beard!' > > See THE GATELESS GATE, Case #2 for a full translation...Bill! > --- In [email protected], Anthony Wu wuasg@ wrote: > > > > fbMerle, > > > > Looks like you have not heard the story of the Wild Fox Zen. I will present > > it in a simple way. The famous Chinese monk Hyakujo (literally a hundred > > yard) found an old man always present in his dharma talk. He curiously > > asked who he was, and was replied that he was a fox, and had stayed that > > way for 500 years. The reason why he reincarnated as a fox for so long was > > that he claimed that a successful practitioner would have escaped the law > > of cause and effect. To that, Hyakujo gave the old man a 'turning word' > > that successful practice will not 'obscure the causative law. The old man > > was immediately liberated. After the dharma talk that night, the sangha > > discovered a corpse of a wild fox, and they buried him according to the > > sangha ritual. That is the story of Master Hundred Yard and the Fox. > > > > Anthony
