A zen story

[Stankov]

A Zen teacher asked a young disciple: "Have you come to this monastery before?"
"No", said the boy.
"Go and have a cup of tea"
Then the teacher asked an experienced disciple "Have you come to this monastery before?"
"Yes", said the man.
"Go and have a cup of tea"

Then somebody else (or was it the boy or the man) came to the master and asked him:

"Why did you say the same thing to both - the newcomer and the experienced disciple? What is the idea of your teaching?"

"Go and have a cup of tea", said the teacher

_________________________

I'm sorry if this is wrong - I've memorized it this way. I think this somebody else who asks about the idea of the teaching (or was it the essense of the teaching) was a high rank disciple or the chief accountant of the monastery.

I'll be happy to see another version of this story.

[Пламен]

Let's have all of them drink a cup of cold water in view of the imminent voidness.

[Stankov]

I am sorry master I didn't understand. Can you explain your teaching? :lol:

[Пламен]

Непереводимая игра слов: Да ги оставим да изпият по една студена вода - пусть выпьют холодной водички, они и так ничего не выиграют. А горячий чаек содержит взБУДДО-раж-ивающие вещества.

[PEK]

You may be a newcomer or an expirienced monk - it doesn't matter. You may have a cup of tea or a cup of pure water - it doesn't matter. You may ask questions or give answers - it doesn't matter.

Go and have a cup of tea!

[ddd]

Я заметил что все хорошие учителя говорят "go", а затем "have a cup of tea".
Но вначале все же больше "go", а "have a cup of tea" надо услышать самому.  

__________________

Walker and tea's drinker.

[PEK]

ddd, можно идти, можно стоять - это тоже не важно.

И!

[Пламен]

Ом, гате, гате!

[Stankov]

I know another one:

A master was famous for teaching by raising his finger every time someone asked him for a philosophical guidance. One day one of his pupils thought he'd found the teacher's philosophy and began raising his finger too.

Then the teacher cut off his finger and the boy reached enlightenment.
______________

Again, please correct me if this is too paraphrased. I want to hear other versions and other stories.

[Stranger]

I wonder which finger he was showing.  

------------------------------
"Real American only needs one finger"
(c) Al Bundy

[Stankov]

I have always imagined it to be the finger next to the thumb - the pointing finger(?). But do you think this is the most important part of the story? I don't. I think you are joking   . If I was your teacher, I'd probably cut your hand for this (another joke :-) )

I think you know other stories but you are too lazy. Am I right?

[PEK]

Stankov, there are many others. This one, for example:

A learner asked zen-master Sotzan:
- What is the most valuable thing in the world?
- The head of a dead cat, - said the teacher.
- Why the head of a dead cat is the most valuable thing in the world? - asked the learner again.
- Because nobody can't give it a price, - said Sotzan.

I think, if you try to find a "zen story" using altavista, you'll get a lot's of links to surf. Here you may try to search for answers.

[Stankov]

Thank you for the advice but my idea is to save my time searching in Alta vista. Secondly, I don't really search for answers - just scientific discussion.

Thanks for the dead cat!

[Пламен]

Nobody is saving time when causing other people to waste time. And - there is no science in Zen, just discussion, leasure, pasttime, idle conversation.  :kidding:

Please, have a look at these articles and let's have them discussed scientifically:

http://www.orientalia.org/article471.html

http://www.orientalia.org/article442.html

http://www.orientalia.org/article475.html

The topic of the discussion may only be changed from "A Zen story" to "The Zen Story".

[Stankov]

Gotcha!

[yoshkinkot]

Whenever anyone asked him about Zen, the great master Gutei
would quietly raise one finger into the air. A boy in the village began
to imitate this behavior. Whenever he heard people talking about
Gutei's teachings, he would interrupt the discussion and raise his
finger. Gutei heard about the boy's mischief. When he saw him in
the street, he seized him and cut off his finger. The boy cried and
began to run off, but Gutei called out to him. When the boy turned
to look, Gutei raised the boy`s finger into the air. At that moment the boy
became enlightened.

[Stankov]

How violent! Like horror movie! Blood shed! Barbarians!

[JR-JT]

Violent? O, no! You may "Go and have a cup of tea"

PS. Sorry...

[yoshkinkot]

Bad boy. First Blood.
Revenge of the boy.
Bad boy strikes back.
The finger 2. Judgement Day.
Bad boy. Resurrection.

These and other zen stories in bookstores all over the world.  :lol:

[Stankov]

Violent? O, no! You may "Go and have a cup of tea"

PS. Sorry...

I've had one already today, but I think I'll have another one because I'm thirsty. Thank you for the idea! :lol: