this too will pass

The Zen master, Hakuin, lived in a village next door to a family. The young, rather attractive girl of the house became pregnant, and her furious parents demanded to know who the father was. The girl said it was Hakuin. Her father went next door in a rage and confronted the master, saying, “you have made my daughter pregnant and you will be held accountable for your actions”. “Is that so?”, replied Hakuin. The master’s reputation in the village was in tatters, and when the child was born, the girl’s parents took it to him and said, “this is your doing, therefore you will have to be responsible for the child’s upbringing”. “Is that so?”, replied Hakuin.

Months passed and the master looked after the child with all the tender care of a loving parent. Eventually, wracked with guilt, the girl confessed that the real father of the child was the young man who worked in the village grocery store. The horrified and embarrassed parents went back to the master and apologised profusely for what had happened. “Is that so?”, said Hakuin as he handed over the child.

This little story tells us two things; firstly that reputation is of the ego, it represents the views and opinions that others hold about us. We can choose to believe those views, but if we do, we run the risk of developing a mind-set about ourselves that is not true and not representative of the light that we really are. It also illustrates the importance of accepting “what is”. In life we have a tendency to try to filter out anything that comes along that the mind tells us is not agreeable. But Zen is about the acceptance of what is, in the knowledge that the world is constantly in motion, that “this too will pass” and “what we resist will persist”. Hakuin was a Zen master; a realised soul, and he was completely unmoved by the whole sorry business. He transcended the ego, therefore he was fully functioning in the world without being a part of the world; he remained “the eternal witness” as the drama played itself out.

I’m off on my travels again in a few days. As I’ve got a bit of time on my hands before I go, I thought I would try to rattle off a couple more blog posts keeping with the Zen parable trend of late. This is another one destined to grace my up coming book…

There was once a king who lacked confidence and was constantly worried that an army would one day come and take his kingdom. He heard that there was a great Zen master in the region and he sent one of his servants to go and bring him to the palace. Sure enough, the master did as the king requested and he accompanied the servant to the palace. The king said, “I have heard that you are a great Zen master and I want you to make me as wise as you”. The master said, “that is impossible your majesty, I can’t do that. However, I would like to help you but it means that I have to return tomorrow”.

The master was true to his word and he duly returned the next day. He produced a small wooden box from his robe and on giving it to the king said, “what is contained in this box is so important that you must never open it unless you find yourself in dire circumstances with all hope lost”. The king thought it rather strange, but nonetheless he thanked the master, who went on his way.

Time passed and the king’s greatest fears were realised. A rival army did indeed attack and take his kingdom, and the king had to flee for his life. He took to the forest and ran for all he was worth. As he ran he could hear the sound of the chasing soldiers on their horses. As the horses gained ground on him he could hear the sound getting steadily louder. He kept on running, but suddenly; to the king’s horror, he was faced with a ravine, which was as deep as it was wide. He had nowhere to run, and as he contemplated his fate, he suddenly remembered the small wooden box that the master had given him. He took it out of his pocket and opened it. Inside, underneath the lid, was an inscription of four words, which the king read to himself, “this too will pass”. He stared at the inscription, and trying to understand what it meant, repeated the words in his mind, “this too will pass, this too will pass”.

The king suddenly realised that he had been so engrossed in contemplating the inscription, he hadn’t noticed that the sound of the galloping horses was fading into the distance. He couldn’t believe it; the chasing soldiers must have taken a wrong fork in the road and were now long gone. The king lay low for a few days and then traced his tracks back and found an alternative route. He travelled for many weeks, foraging for food on the way, until he came to a village. Nobody knew him as a king and the villagers were friendly, inviting him to stay. He settled down, and as time went by he eventually married and had a couple of children. He was extremely happy and contented.

One day, after some years had passed, the former king was sorting through some of his belongings. He came across a small wooden box that looked vaguely familiar. Out of curiosity he opened it, and underneath the lid he saw the inscription, “this too will pass”.

This parable is a reminder of the impermanent nature of the world. The only thing that is guaranteed, apart from our eventual exit from this life, is change. We live in a world that is in a constant state of flux; that is forever moving in cycles. It is a reminder that we ourselves are not these forms that we call bodies, but rather the substratum on which “the dance of life” is played out. The parable is not telling us that we should not enjoy the dance and embrace all the beauty it has to offer, but it reminds us that we shouldn’t get too attached to the niceties of life because they will not last. Enjoy the adventure, whilst at the same time understanding that life is like a river constantly flowing towards the ocean into which it will merge and that, “this too will pass”.