The Master was walking through the fields one day when a young man, a troubled look upon his face, approached him. “On such a beautiful day, it must be difficult to stay so serious,” the Master said.
“Is it? I hadn’t noticed,” the young man said, turning to look around and notice his surroundings. His eyes scanned the landscape, but nothing seemed to register; his mind elsewhere.
Watching intently, the Master continued to walk. “Join me if you like.” The Master walked to the edge of a still pond, framed by sycamore trees, their leaves golden orange and about to fall. “Please sit down,” the Master invited, patting the ground next to him.
Looking carefully before sitting, the young man brushed the ground to clear a space for himself. “Now, find a small stone, please,” the Master instructed.
“What?”
“A stone. Please find a small stone and throw it in the pond.” Searching around him, the young man grabbed a pebble and threw it as far as he could. “Tell me what you see,” the Master instructed. Straining his eyes to not miss a single detail, the man looked at the water’s surface.
“I see ripples.”
“Where did the ripples come from?”
“From the pebble I threw in the pond, Master.”
“Please reach your hand into the water and stop the ripples,” the Master asked. Not understanding, the young man stuck his hand in the water as a ripple neared, only to cause more ripples. The young man was now completely baffled. Where was this going? Had he made a mistake in seeking out the Master? After all he was not a student, perhaps he could not be helped?
Puzzled, the young man waited. “Were you able to stop the ripples with your hands?” the Master asked.
“No, of course not.”
“Could you have stopped the ripples, then?”
“No, Master. I told you I only caused more ripples.”
“What if you had stopped the pebble from entering the water to begin with?” The Master smiled such a beautiful smile; the young man could not be upset. “Next time you are unhappy with your life, catch the stone before it hits the water. Do not spend time trying to undo what you have done. Rather, change what you are going to do before you do it.” The Master looked kindly upon the young man.
“But Master, how will I know what I am going to do before I do it?”
“Take the responsibility for living your own life. If you’re working with a doctor to treat an illness, then ask the doctor to help you understand what caused the illness. Do not just treat the ripples. Keep asking questions.” The young man stopped, his mind reeling.
“But I came to you to ask you for answers. Are you saying that I know the answers?”
“You may not know the answers right now, but if you ask the right questions, then you shall discover the answers.”
“But what are the right questions, Master?”
“There are no wrong questions, only unasked ones. We must ask, for without asking, we cannot receive answers. But it is your responsibility to ask. No one else can do that for you.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Β
have a zen filled day
Β
13 comments
Comments feed for this article
March 21, 2012 at 4:54 am
istopforsuffering
Reblogged this on istopforsuffering and commented:
Wonderful Zen story β₯
March 21, 2012 at 6:09 am
ram0ram
Reblogged this on ram0ram note book.
March 21, 2012 at 8:12 am
Cat Forsley
WOWZA ……….
ART …………..
THIS ONE BLEW MY MIND …….
IN A GOOD WAY ………:)
LOTS TO THINK ABOUT WITH THIS ONE …….
LOVE – PEACE – AND PRAYERS –
CAT XX
March 21, 2012 at 8:20 am
Savira
An interesting aspect!
March 21, 2012 at 11:12 am
willowdot21
OH! if only I had know that forty odd years ago! π
March 21, 2012 at 2:30 pm
Chad the Velociraptor
Several things came to mind when I read this:
(1) Basho’s haiku about the pond, the frog, and the sound it made.
(2) A letter I wrote to my team regarding foresight.
(3) A time I meditated to ask God for answers only to realize that He already answered it and to realize that I should have been asking for a way to always hear His replies.
Thank you for sharing this message and for bringing to mind those cool memories! Have a zen-spiring day!
March 21, 2012 at 9:05 pm
cowgirliz
Lovely. Seriously needed today. Thank you.
March 21, 2012 at 10:37 pm
Soma Mukherjee
what a beautiful story Zen aboslutely marvelous π
March 22, 2012 at 11:01 am
granbee
Art, this is so very deep and true and wise and HELPFUL–no wrong questions, our responsibility to ask them of ourselves before we act!
March 23, 2012 at 10:08 pm
risingontheroad
Ah I do love your blog!
March 29, 2012 at 8:23 pm
Fergiemoto
Wise words, again!
June 10, 2012 at 8:34 pm
WordsFallFromMyEyes
I liked this one heaps, Zendictive – heaps. He only caused more ripples. This is just excellent.
And I like the don’t ask the meaning of life as you define it. You’re so choice π
January 2, 2015 at 1:10 pm
Peter Ratcliff
I was reading Escape from Reason by Francis Schaeffer which said, Zen Buddhism expresses so accurately the view of modern man: ‘Man enters the water and causes no ripple.’ The Bible says he causes ripples that never end.