₦airaland Forum

Many teachings from Zen-Buddhism are told in short and delightful zen stories. They are usually designed to develop the mind and to free it from distortions and so to connect with our spirit.

Some of them are really inspiring and enlightening. It is helpful to the mind to think about them and feel the deeper meaning. Even if it is not possible to grasp them fully, the beauty and simplicity of the message usually gets through to us one way or the other.

The following 10 Zen stories are a selection of the ones I found most inspiring and really worth to ponder about. Some may be instantly understood, some others need to be thought through and recognized in oneself.

They are about the following topics: life in the present moment, different perspectives, attachment, resistance, judgment, delusion, beliefs and thought as mental concepts but not truth and unconditional love. Please feel free to post your interpretation or other stories into the comments.

After reading the first, follow it’s advice to read all the others.
1. A Cup of Tea

Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.

Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor’s cup full, and then kept on pouring.

The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. “It is overfull. No more will go in!”

“Like this cup,” Nan-in said, “you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?”
2. The Burden

Two monks were returning to the monastery in the evening. It had rained and there were puddles of water on the road sides. At one place a beautiful young woman was standing unable to walk accross because of a puddle of water. The elder of the two monks went up to a her lifted her and left her on the other side of the road, and continued his way to the monastery.

In the evening the younger monk came to the elder monk and said, “Sir, as monks, we cannot touch a woman ?”

The elder monk answered “yes, brother”.

Then the younger monk asks again, “but then Sir, how is that you lifted that woman on the roadside ?”

The elder monk smiled at him and told him ” I left her on the other side of the road, but you are still carrying her.”
3. Finding a Piece of the Truth

One day Mara, the Evil One, was travelling through the villages of India with his attendants. he saw a man doing walking meditation whose face was lit up on wonder. The man had just discovered something on the ground in front of him. Mara’s attendant asked what that was and Mara replied, “A piece of truth.”

“Doesn’t this bother you when someone finds a piece of truth, O Evil One?” his attendant asked. “No,” Mara replied. “Right after this, they usually make a belief out of it.”
4. The Other Side

One day a young Buddhist on his journey home came to the banks of a wide river. Staring hopelessly at the great obstacle in front of him, he pondered for hours on just how to cross such a wide barrier. Just as he was about to give up his pursuit to continue his journey he saw a great teacher on the other side of the river. The young Buddhist yells over to the teacher, “Oh wise one, can you tell me how to get to the other side of this river”?

The teacher ponders for a moment looks up and down the river and yells back, “My son, you are on the other side”.

http://altering-perspectives.com/2013/11/10-best-zen-stories.html

evantical: Don't know where to place this. Have you noticed the recent craze of People selling CD plates after claiming of being one time fake Pastors Or a converted criminals.They are even raking millions from sales of CDs of all these their confessions.I thinks is High time the Police arrested all these individuals if what the claim is true.Ofcourse most of them are fabricating all these stuffs in other to make money from gullible Nigerians.And If what the claim is true then they must be brought to justice not going free and even making money from it.Enough of all these nonsense. Guys whats your take?

not their fault really.. they are only making money tell you what you want to hear and in the end u shout Hallelujah or Allahu Akbar...like the prayer goes "God dont let those that are stupid/gullible become wise and dont let those wise become stupid/gullible so that the wise will continue smiling while the stupid/gullible will continue paying either in kind or cash" let me hear you say a loud AMEN!!!

[quote author=nutty_hnic]Even if i were still in University, i really wouldnt care about a strike lasting for a year.
nothing in nigeria surprises me.

Instead of you to engage yourself with thoughts about the break down of the educational system, u choose to turn it into a joke.

i wouldnt blame you, you are just a sad product of a failed nation.

Nairaland is indeed a meltingpot...were an idio.tic individual that has self imposed mental blindness would freely address someone of a different kind[/quote]guy relax nahhh just take a sip of alomo as u dey release that gas and i bet u are gonna be ok, believe me it helps

[quote author=nutty_hnic]Alright boy, educate us about isreali MOSSAD or is it soviet KGB.

Every american knows the cia do exist, what you dont is numerous covert ops they carry out.

For God sake CIA has a damn website...MOSSAD is on wikipedia, how wouldnt people know about them?

Or is it most operations that they carry out that the media makes public....how about the isrealis that wer freed by mossad agents in 1976, its widely known how many arabs mossad has assassinated..
Is it CIA? HOw many times has US president given recognition to men nd women of the cia in press conference.

and yet you sit in your room and think most nigerians only know about these agencies through movies you are the retar.d here.

NIA doesnt do shi.t. PERIOD.

Sahara reporters would do better as an intelligence agency.[/quote]who is this cant you just go back to school gate and wait for ASUU to call of strike?

tbaba1234: Wow, shows how far we have fallen... Those were the days.
6-EVLENMİŞ OLACAK, KARISI BİR TANE VE GÜZEL BİR KADIN OLACAKTIR. (HARAMA BAKMAMASI İÇİN)

He must be married with a maximum of one wife who must be very pretty and beautiful (to ensure he doesn't look at other women).

if anyone should make the above as one of the criteria for choosing imams/sultan/emirs today is people like u @op and all the moderators on this site that will call the person an unbeliever and someone who doesnt know or understand Quran and am damn sure fatwa will be place on the said person across the world.... the hypocrisy is everywhere

MEILYN: come as Animals? you do err. Thats a lie.

you call me a liar.. did i bring the verse from my head or from the Quran unless u are calling Quran lies which will also mean all the bible verses u have been quoting are lies also

MEILYN: like seriously? You really need to grow up not me. I said your statement was wrong, is that name calling? Mr man this is a public forum where disagreement is common. Because i said you were lying? That made you Emotional i guess?. Who will take you serious? Human beings come as Animals in their next life?. Nw thats a big lie

there is nothing about emotions here if u can read and infer very well.. you dont call people liars cos they didnt say what u wanna hear... the only sane thing u can do is to bring your rebuttal... how will u feel if everyone start saying and calling u a liar on every post u make?? how will u feel if u said something about your parents and i said your parents are liars?


you really need to growup and realize this is a public forum where there will be dissenting view... your views and opinions can not be golden bro so wise up

MEILYN: i cant be repeating myself over and over again.... Have done that in previous pages..u can check. There is no way Humans can reincarnate to Animals.. Its not reasonable... I dont see us agreeing bro, he is a muslim, am not. How will i show him proof when the only proof i have is from the Bible?

u are still a learner

MEILYN: come as Animals? you do err. Thats a lie.

you dont call people liars.. everyone is entitled to his/her own opinions and calling them liars is name calling... so be civil and growup...u can disagree and u shd u knw that whatever u think u know is not up to 0.0000000000000000000001% of what the most learned human in the history know so grow up plsssss

throwing it on the outside roof of the house while facing back

funny isnt it

khattab02: what! Are u kidding me? Second christian to acknowledge karma. Please tell me more about that of Islam.

do u really think once you just do Astagfirullahi and repent your action/inaction is over forgiveness means accepting responsibilty for your action with joy and happiness. whoever kill shall be killed too if not in this life but certainly next.. some will even come as animals in their nextlife as the below verse stipulated


قل هل انبتکم بشر من ذلک مثوبه عندالله من لعنه الله و غضب علیه و جعل منهم القرده و الخنازیر و عبد الطاغوت اولئک شر مکانا و اضل عن سواء السبیل

المائده – 60

Tell them! Shall I reveal to you something worse in the sight of God? It is those whom God throws far away from His Grace and rages against. And turns them into apes and pigs and slaves of the Evil Power. They are in the worse place (abode) and they are lost to the right path.


DO YOU GUYS REALLY THINK HELLFIRE IS A PLACE?? DO YOU THINK THE FIRE MENTIONED IS A BLAZING FIRE?? (it is mentioned in the early verse of Quran that the whole words in it are similitude of the actual thing) THESE ARE JUST GRAPHICAL REPRESENTATION OF WHAT PEOPLE WILL GO THROUGH..

khattab02: what! Are u kidding me? Second christian to acknowledge karma. Please tell me more about that of Islam.

what do u think the below verses means

d.
و ان لیس للانسان الا ما سعی و ان سعیه سوف یری ثم یجزیه الجزاء الاوفی و ان الی ربک المنتهی

النجم – 38 الی 42

Indeed, nothing belongs to the human being but his/her own actions. And indeed s/he will face his/her actions soon, until his/her reward will be completed, and indeed, towards your Lord will be the Final Destination.
من عمل سیئه فلا یجزی الا مثلها

المومن – 40

Whoever does a bad action, the reward will be a similar action.

khattab02: what! Are u kidding me? Second christian to acknowledge karma. Please tell me more about that of Islam.

and who told you that am a christain??

khattab02: Lol.. Just can't stop laughing. Like I said this is the first time am seeing the concept of Karma in the Bible and i christianity. Everyday I meet diffrent Hot Gospellers and Bible thumpers with different interpretations and teachings of the Bible. If that is what you are to say,alright. Those that quote the Four gospels and Paul don't say that, they say antonement of sin, everyone has sinned and they only way u will be save is to believ that Christ died for your sins and u will be saved. I have never heard from them someone coming back in third or fourth generation to pay his sins.

reincarnation and the concept of karma is in d quran also and clearly stated.when u are ready 4 d truth am sure it wil find u. Bros wen u are ready to knw, u wil find this concept in al religions of d world including islam. Knw d truth and it shal set u free (there is a reason y jesus didnt use 'when' like 'when u knw d truth' and this is to let ppl knw d unimportance of time and illusion of it)

deols: @Abu Mikey,

I am sorry for editing your post that way.

as much as i dont like your style and dont think i will ever do, i very much appreciate this your public apology. i hope he accepted it and that u guys shd understand that people should have freedom to say their mind. we cant fight for our religions no matter hw hard we try, instead we should give rebuttal to whatever people say about us

thanks

willscolf: i beg 2 disagree wit u my oga,so u r tryin 2 say dat it's save 4 som1 wit an accnt balance of $500 2 use a lot size of 1 whch each pip loss amounting 2 $10 loss? As far as am concerned lot size is very essential in dis biz oo nd it's 1 of d elements of money management

u are misinterpreting me.. i never said one shd used more than what our equity can survive on.. what i said was that it doesnt matter whether we use 0.01 or 100lot what matter is the comfort and relaxation one feel while using the lot and the easy of trading (entry and exit) without any adrenaline pump...

comfort trading is key and the most important, once this is realized even a 100$ account will become 2mill$ in a short while

[quote author=raycolz_84]Well it depends on the kind of lot size that you are using, if you are using 0.01 den it shouldn't be a move, but imagine this on 1 lot... Then you should understand what I am talking about

And hey I didn't brag, am still humble and willing to kearn more things ooo, though I was just confident about that particular trade[/quote]sorry bro about my message but then u should know that lot size really means nothing in this biz.. at the end of the day lot size are the samething (they are just numbers).
my one cent is seek first trading comfort and not money and money will come yanfu yanfu (when we seek for making money first we will never get there, we will keep missing it.. no real forex millioniare focus on the money first but comfort of trading....).. see first the kingdom of god (comfort) and the forex money will find u when

the day our trading becomes boring then money is just right in the corner

[quote author=raycolz_84]did anybody remember what I posted this morning.. wow u can guess I am smilling now
so with ogboraph too, he should b smiling to the bank too, know say the guy dey trade with big big lot... lol


I trade forex from experience, what happened today has happened again and again in the past
so it didn't come as a surprise[/quote]and u called yesterday EU move a move?? thats just a scratch which is not even enough for stoploss... if ur experience is based on that little move and u are bragging about it then ..................................

Divepen: Macof study d bible b4 u make claims

exactly what he just said... u are a robot by allowing bible to think for you (so where is the freewill when u must obey bible and do its bidding else u go to hellfire... BROS THAT;S THE POINT HE IS MAKING)

SEE BELOW

Macof: If your religion stops u or says u can't do anything u like, it's trying to say that humans shouldn't have free will, that humans should be mindless robots having to use the Bible to think for us

macof: You can do anything you like, that's the essence of free will. But its important to bare in mind that the Law of Karma is very effective(you do good, you received good in return, do bad you received bad in return) it's the natural law of the universe.

If your religion stops u or says u can't do anything u like, it's trying to say that humans shouldn't have free will, that humans should be mindless robots having to use the Bible to think for us.

exactly bros.. whatever u do in this world u reap it in this world als (karma in effect), fall from a 100 storey building and u are dead whether u are good or bad (karma in effect). every energy created need to express itself 100% of the time... people want escape route so they create heaven imaginary

macof: Christians are also guilty for idolatry if we are to take this definitions seriously.

images of Jesus, Mary and various angels and saints are your idols.

And also rosaries, holy water, anointing oil, Bible and crucifix

exactly going by that definition every religions of the world is involved

Islam= Quran,Kabba, Maqa Ibrahim, Black Stone, Saffawa Marwa, Tomb of Prophet Muhammad etc
Xtianity = Rosary, Crucifix, Bible, Jesus Portrait, Mary Portrait, saint and angels


its so funny how people think.. i just wish they could take a step back and look at it all together and they will that everything is one big circle revolving around itself

FOLYKAZE: Islamic section is like Saudi Arabia.

the mods in islamic section are almighty god themselves... run for your dear username bros.. he who has ears let him listen

FYI seun wont do a damn thing else they will play the intolerance card on him

MamiWata: Unfortunately the only Nigerians I know are the ones met in Benin and the U.S. I've spent most of my life in the U.S. I lived in Benin for maybe three years altogether. However there were so many traditional people there. Is it really so hard to find practitioners in Nigeria? Even the villages?

nigeria case is realy pathetic i tell ya

MamiWata: Where do you live?

i live here in naija. U wanna give me one??wil surely look up to it

MamiWata: So marry a traditional and help build it back up. That's what I did. It starts with us.

i dont really believe in marriage (cos the meaning is long lost) but i will be very much ready to marry one. the problem is how do i get one??

whats special about what they put on now. u guys can read meanings into anything u dont understand... what will happen if u c me and my crew putting on black stocking like dress with torchlight attached to our head and weird logos plus inscriptions(matching on in batches of 10each), will u also say we are demonic??

quit reading meaning where there is non. whether Armageddon or no Armageddon we will all die. whether today, tomorrow, 100yrs from now, 10yrs from now or 50yrs ago, death is death, so quit all this silly stuff and enjoy ur life jare

fatherfaith: dat's d no dat beejaay dropped on d oda trend

bros pls delete or edit ur post. i stylishly drop the number there for the smart ones not here.... i dont want rancour plsssssss i beg of u...what i did was just a favour (if misused the line myt be switched off and thats all.) thank god i didnt drop the name of the person that always man the fone line..


PLEASE EDIT OR DELETE THE POST I BEG YOU

FOLYKAZE: dont eat lies. All the christian I met are either praying for the death of enemy or praying for longer days on earth with money and good earth. I haven't and possibly cant find any that pray for quick death

for where religious people are the first to pick race when they notice a car moving at 10meter higher than usual.. u will hear something like 'God forbid'...that driver is mad.... death is not my portion (whose portion is it then if death is not your portion how else do u wanna go to heaven if you didnt die except they know there is no location called heaven)... u will also something like God i dont wanna die now (if u dont wanna die knw the what happen to start enjoying heaving at young age with all the beautiful things explained).
you will even noticed that in any religious gathering, the only time you will hear the loudest shouting is when prayer about death is being said that u will hear a roaring AMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!! ( i just laugh when i hear this, seeing people deceiving people PDP)

fali: Beejay please the no you posted is not complete.
Thank you one love

its land line not gsm bros

beejaay: 01460515 (pretend as if u received a call from them) am sure u understand what i mean

its a land line nt gsm

Michaellegend: Sir, are you ok?

am sure u are the one that is not ok for copying the whole damn tin

tontons: i hav send u a msg, tanx 4 ur concern, i appreciate.

check you NIMC Applicant training forum..i have put it there