At the edge of a small village lived Takeshi. One windy day, his student Hiroshi came to him and said, “I feel that my soul is wild and stormy, unable to find rest—like the crashing surf of the ocean. How can I find peace?” Takeshi smiled and said, “Come, let us go to the sea.” So they walked together to the shore, where the waves pounded against the coast. Takeshi pointed to the raging ocean and said,“Look, Hiroshi—this is like your soul: wild and restless, stirred by though

Once there was a young monk whose soul was as restless as the waves of a storm-tossed sea. He had read much about “enlightenment” and heard that it was like a mighty wind that sweeps away the old and clears the soul. He wanted to possess this state at any cost. One night, when a powerful storm swept across the mountains, he ran out into the darkness. In his hands he carried a delicate paper lantern. He believed that if he ran fast enough and opened the lantern at just the rig

A monk asked the master:“If there is no self,why do you care for posture, breath, and the body?” The master took a simple clay bowl, rinsed it and placed it before the monk. The bowl was empty. The master went to the well, filled it with water and handed it to the monk. “Drink.” After the monk had drunk, the master turned the bowl upside down on the table. The master said: “Precisely because it is empty,it can hold clearly.” The monk asked: “And if it breaks?” The master repl