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Drop all 'isms'
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Mind of a Sage
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Judging a saint
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The Fake Monk
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Rinzai's Answer
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Mystic Rengetsu
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Zen
Master Sekito
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Zen Sage & Thief
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Zen Master in Jail
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Buddha’s message
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The Game of Chess
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Innocence is Divine
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Master's Compassion
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Knowledge is Trouble
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Respond with awareness
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Tetsugen
3 set of
sutras
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You are already a Buddha
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Sound of one Hand Clapping
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Master waits 4 right Moment
- Stories 1 - 2
- Stories 3 - 4
- Stories 5 - 7
- Stories 8-9
- Stories 10
- Stories 11
- Stories 12-14
- Stories 15-16
- Stories 17-18
- Stories 19 - 21
- Stories 22 - 24
- Stories 25 - 27
- Stories 28 - 32
- Stories 33 - 36
- Stories 37 - 38
- Stories 39 - 41
- Stories 42 - 44
- Stories 45 - 46
- Stories 47 - 48
- Stories 49 - 50
- Stories 51 - 53
- Stories 54 - 56
- Stories 57 - 59
- Stories 60 - 61
- Stories 62 - 64
- Stories 65 - 66
- Stories 67 - 68
- Stories 69 - 72
- Stories 73 - 75
- Stories 76 - 78
- Stories 79 - 82
- Stories 83 - 86
- Stories 87 - 89
- Stories 90 - 91
- Stories 92 - 94
- Stories 95 - 97
- Stories 98 -101
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65. The Subjugation of a
Ghost
A young wife fell sick and was about to die. 'I love you so much,'
she told her husband, 'I do not want to leave you. Do not go from me
to any other woman. If you do, I will return as a ghost and cause
you endless trouble.'
Soon the wife passed away. The husband respected her last wish for
the first three months but then he met another woman and fell in
love with her. They became engaged to be married.
Immediately after the engagement a ghost appeared every night to the
man blaming him for not keeping his promise. The ghost was clever
too. She told him exactly what had transpired between himself and
his new sweetheart.
Whenever he gave his fiancée a present the ghost would describe it
in detail She would even repeat conversations, and it so annoyed the
man that he could not sleep. Someone advised him to take his problem
to a Zen master who lived close to the village.
At length, in despair, the poor man went to him for help. 'Your
former wife became a ghost and knows everything you do,' commented
the master. 'Whatever you do or say, whatever you give your beloved
she knows. She must be a very wise ghost. Really you should admire
such a ghost. The next time she appears, bargain with her. Tell her
she knows so much you can hide nothing from her, and that if she
will answer you one question, you promise to break your engagement
and remain single.'
'What is the question I must ask her?' inquired the man.
The master replied: Take a large handful of soybeans and ask her
exactly how many beans you hold in your hand. If she cannot tell
you, you will know she is only figment of your imagination and will
trouble you no longer.'
The next night, when the ghost appeared the man flattered her and
told her that she knew everything. 'Indeed,' replied the ghost, 'and
I know you went to see that Zen master today.
'And since you know so much,' demanded the man, 'tell me how many
beans I hold in this hand!'
There was no longer any ghost to answer the question.
66.Children of His Majesty
Yamaoka Tesshu was a tutor of the emperor. He was also a master of
fencing and a profound student of Zen. His home was the abode of
vagabonds. He had but one suit of clothes, for they kept him always
poor.
The emperor, observing how worn his garments were, gave Yamaoka some
money to buy new ones. The next rime Yamaoka appeared he wore the
same old outfit.
'What became of the new clothes, Yamaoka?' asked the emperor.
'I provided clothes for the children of Your Majesty,' explained
Yamaoka.
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