Zen monk Bokuju was once passing through a village. A person came across and struck him with a stick. Bokuju fell down and with him, the stick also fell on the ground. He got up, picked up the stick and ran after the man who was running away. Bokuju called the man saying, “Please wait, at least take your stick!”
Finally Bokuju reached the man and gave him the stick. A large crowd witnessed this happening, so someone asked Bokuju, ”That man hit you, hurt you, but why did you not say anything to him!”
Bokuju replied, “That man has hit me, that’s all. It is a fact. He was the hitter and I was the hit. It is just as if I am passing under a tree and a branch falls on me. What can I do about it?”
The surprised crowd said, “....A branch is a branch, but this is a man who hit you. We cannot punish a branch, it has no mind...!”
Bokuju said, “This man is also like a branch to me, so why should I bother to say anything to this man? I am not going to interpret what has happened. And since it has already happened, why get worried about it? It is finished and over.”
Moral of the Story ....
Finally Bokuju reached the man and gave him the stick. A large crowd witnessed this happening, so someone asked Bokuju, ”That man hit you, hurt you, but why did you not say anything to him!”
Bokuju replied, “That man has hit me, that’s all. It is a fact. He was the hitter and I was the hit. It is just as if I am passing under a tree and a branch falls on me. What can I do about it?”
The surprised crowd said, “....A branch is a branch, but this is a man who hit you. We cannot punish a branch, it has no mind...!”
Bokuju said, “This man is also like a branch to me, so why should I bother to say anything to this man? I am not going to interpret what has happened. And since it has already happened, why get worried about it? It is finished and over.”
Moral of the Story ....
Friends, this is a spiritual mind ....not choosing and not asking for anything. Whatsoever happens, it accepts in its totality. This acceptance gives freedom and the capacity to see. Shoulds & should nots, division & judgment, condemnation & appreciation, etc. are the diseases, which make us see wrongly and thus we go on dividing and this division is our disease.
Friends, one must understand that, facts are just facts, there is no way to judge them....!
Have Great Day Friends!
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