To: alt.zen
From: bairanl@polaris.nova.edu (Luke C. Bairan)
Subject: Re: Problems with Judgment 
Quoting: |mahabarbara@delphi.com 

This was the story I was going to write in response to Zen stories about 
judging others.  Someone was nice enough to post it to another group so 
I'm sending it here and adding a shorter one also.

|'Provided he makes and wins a Dharma Combat with those who live 
|there, any wandering monk can remain in a Zen temple. If he is 
|defeated, however, he has to move on.  
|	
|'Two brother monks lived together in a temple in northern Japan.  
|The elder brother was learned, but the younger one, who had only one 
|eye, was what we would call mentally challenged.  A wandering monk came 
|and challenged them to combat. The elder monk was tired, and told the 
|younger one to take his place. "Request the dialogue in silence," said 
|the older one, trying to be helpful. So the stranger and the young monk 
|went into the shrine and sat down.
|	
|'Soon the traveler came out of the shrine. "Your brother is a wonderful 
|fellow! He defeated me!"
|	
|'The elder monk hid his surprise and said, "Relate the dialogue to me."
|
| '"Well," said the traveler, "first I held up one finger, representing 
|Buddha, the enlightened one. So he held up two fingers, signifying Buddha 
|and his teaching. I held up three fingers, representing the Three Treasures.
|Then he shook his clenched fist in my face, indicating that all three come 
|from one realization. Thus he won and so I have no right to remain here." 
|With this, the stranger left.
|	
|'A second later, the younger brother stumbled out of the shrine. "Where is 
|that fellow?" he yelled.
|	
|'"I understand you won the debate."
|	
|'"Won nothing! I'm going to beat him up."
|	
|'"Tell me what happened," said the older brother.
|	
|'"Why the minute I saw him he held up one finger, making fun of me because 
|I have only one eye.  I was trying to be polite, so I held up two fingers 
|congratulating him for having two eyes.  Then the wretch held up three 
|fingers, to mean that we had only three eyes between us. So I got mad and 
|started to punch him, but he jumped up and ran out of the room!"'
|[the end]

	And one I posted earlier.

	Hui Neng was begging one day when he walked into the house of a
man who was seated, facing a wall, doing Zazen. "What is the teaching of
the Buddha?"  Hui Neng demanded.
	The man held his fist up.
Hui Neng scoffed at the man and exited the hut commenting "Why discuss 
the Great Matter with dogs."
	A week later the Sixth Patriarch went again to hut of the man, who
was again seated facing the wall.  "What is the teaching of the Buddha?" 
Demanded the the Sixth Patriarch.
	The man held his fist up.
Hui Neng bowed to the man, apologized for his own blindness, and left the 
hut. 

-----------------------------------------------------------

Two masters meet, two dogs meet, same result.

L.B.