“What you do and what happens to you, are the same thing.”
I’ve written many “zen” stories over the years. Perhaps hundreds. I also have a nice Zen Journal for teachers, much used and that I’m proud of.
My zen stories, all have a lesson to teach. Perhaps I’ll collect them soon for readers. But like jokes, zen stories I don’t think, should have an interpretation. They should sit there and be read, again and again until the reader is ready and the answer appears. Like jokes, it is all about timing. Plus, if you have to explain your joke, it is not a joke.
A zen story.
A monastery decided they had to do more to reach out to the wider community. So, they started a Facebook page. People who were curious or wanted questions answered, could ask.
A young girl was the first to post a question.
“Does the Buddha wear toenail polish?”
The monk replied, “Are you wearing toenail polish?”
The young girl asked her brother who didn’t wear toenail polish, to ask the same question. The boy asked, “Does the Buddha wear toenail polish?”
The monk replied, “Are you wearing toenail polish?”
The boy replied, “It doesn’t make sense. My sister got a different answer than me!” It’s contradictory.”
The monk replied. “The same wind that pushes you one way, is pushing someone else another way. Both are correct.”
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Energy is an eternal delight, and he who desires, but acts not, breeds pestilence. William Blake