Different Levels, Different Perceptions

 

 

Now I will tell you a story about Zen. In a temple in Japan lived two monks. The senior monk was very intelligent, enlightened, dignified and good looking. The junior was less attractive and had only one good eye. He was also rather dumb, perhaps still in the Astral level.

One time, as the senior monk had exerted himself from busy work, he retreated to take a rest and to meditate, and he told his one-eyed junior brother to take care of the “sun plaza,” the temple where they lived. That day, a wandering monk came from afar to their temple; he requested a vegetarian meal and to spend the night there, as he would be leaving for another place the next day. Although the junior was just at the first level, the Astral level, which was nothing much, he still wanted to follow the rules to test the visiting monk. He seldom had a chance to act as the abbot! Since his senior was sleeping, he was the king, and he was going to test the monk. As he sat on a table covered with a saffron cloth, he asked the visitor to sit on the ground (Master and everyone laugh) and then asked, “Where are you from?” The visiting monk replied, “I come from Tokyo, and I would like to stay here for the night, because I have to hurry on my way tomorrow to attend a funeral.”

The junior said, “You are welcome! If you are capable of answering my questions, I will let you stay as long as you wish.” The monk from Tokyo said, “Of course! I am aware of this rule. Please ask any question, as you wish.” However, the junior was at a loss as what to ask until he came up with an idea. He thought, “This is best done in a Zen manner, where no words are necessary. Then he will definitely lose, because his answers will always be wrong since it is entirely up to me to say whether the answer is right or wrong.”

After a speechless question-and-answer session between them, the visiting monk went to the senior, saying, "Well! I have to leave now because I lost. I just came here to say farewell to you. Your junior brother is truly terrific and incredible! I am very sorry. Since I was defeated, I can no longer stay here to learn from you. If your junior brother is so fantastic, you must be even more superb! Unfortunately, I have lost, and according to the rule, I must leave now.”

The senior monk who had rested enough, asked, “What were your questions and answers? How could you lose so easily?” The visitor said, “He let me express myself first, so I showed him one finger, as a metaphor of the almighty respectable One in the whole world - the Buddha, the fully enlightened One. Immediately, your junior showed two fingers in return (everyone laughs), and so I lost! I knew what he meant, which was that the Buddha alone would be useless if He just sat there and did not go out to give lectures and spread His teachings. The Buddha and His teachings must go side-by-side with one another. Of course I was defeated and admired him very much. Then, in an attempt to turn things around, I raised three fingers like this (everyone laughs), indicating that if the Buddha, the dharma (the teachings) and the sangha (assembly of monks and nuns) are unified as one, then it is truly perfect. What I meant was, though living together in numbers, the monastic order is harmonious as one; the Buddha was the only One and most precious in the world; His teachings are also the one and only Truth. Therefore, I showed him three fingers, representing the Buddha, the teachings and the monastic order.”

“Oh! Your junior immediately clenched his fist and punched at my nose here. (Everyone laughs) He almost hit me! It represented a person who had attained immediate enlightenment. (Master laughs; everyone laughs and applauds.) What he meant was that, although the Buddha, the teachings and the monastic order are supposed to give people liberation in one lifetime, this “Immediate Enlightenment” is even better. Just give the person a punch and he will be enlightened immediately. I was at the end of my wit; this was beyond me. Therefore I immediately came to see you to extend my apology and admiration, and then I will be on my way.”

After the visiting monk had left, the junior ran panting from behind and asked his senior: “Where is that monk from Tokyo? Where has he gone?” The senior said, “He has been defeated by you, so he left. You are terrific! You are really terrific! I never knew that you were so enlightened! I am sorry. All these years I have always looked down on you. Only now do I know that you are so superb!” The junior said, “What do you mean I defeated him? I was going to hit him but he escaped.” (Master and everyone laugh) The senior asked, “Why did you want to hit him? He said you defeated him, so why did you want to hit him? Tell me about the contents of your questions and answers.”

The junior said, “What you don’t know is that this monk was extremely arrogant. He challenged me as soon as he arrived. Observing that I had only one eye, he made fun of me. (Master and everyone laugh) He immediately held up one finger in mockery to laugh at me. However, I remembered that you had told me to practice humility, and to tolerate even when people hit or scold me. Since I am a monk, I had no choice but to endure his humiliation. I also remembered the Buddha had taught us to repay hostility with benevolence and refrain from taking revenge. Therefore, I tried hard not to be angry with him or insult him in return. I praised him by holding up two fingers to indicate that he was really blessed to have two eyes. (Master and everyone laugh) Even then, he was not satisfied. Observing that I was giving in, he continued to insult me further.”

The senior asked, “How did he insult you? He is a monk! How could he possibly insult you?” The junior said, “He showed me three fingers. He meant that the two of us together had only three eyes. (Master and everyone laugh) I was really mad! I could not tolerate any more so I raised my fist at him, but he managed to escape. (Master and everyone laugh) That was why I chased after him. Lucky for him that he fled; otherwise I would have given him a few more punches!” (Master and everyone laugh) The monk had fled. Otherwise, there might have been more stories.

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