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Samurai

The Ten Pictures Of The Cowherd
[FN#275] The pictures were drawn by Kwoh Ngan (Kaku-an), a...

Buddha Is Unnamable
Give a definite name to Deity, He would be no more than what ...

The Next Step In The Mental Training
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Retribution In The Past The Present And The Future Life
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The Parable Of The Robber Kih
Chwang Tsz (So-shi) remarks in a humorous way to the followi...

There Is No Mortal Who Is Non-moral Or Purely Immoral
The same is the case with the third and the fourth class of p...

Shakya Muni And The Prodigal Son
A great trouble with us is that we do not believe in half the...

Missionary Activity Of The Sixth Patriarch
As we have seen above, the Sixth Patriarch was a great genius...

Let Go Of Your Idle Thoughts
[FN#263] A famous Zenist, Mu-go-koku-shi, is said to ha...

The Theory Of Buddha-nature Adequately Explains The Ethical States Of Man
This theory of Buddha-nature enables us to get an insight int...

The Great Person And Small Person
For these reasons Zen proposes to call man Buddha-natured or ...

There Is No Mortal Who Is Purely Moral
By nature man should be either good or bad; or he should be g...

Buddha-nature Is The Common Source Of Morals
Furthermore, Buddha-nature or real self, being the seat of lo...

Enlightened Consciousness
In addition to these considerations, which mainly depend on i...

The Bad Are The Good In The Egg
This is not only the case with a robber or a murderer, but al...

The Law Of Balance In Life
It is also the case with human affairs. Social positions hig...

An Illusion Concerning Appearance And Reality
To get Enlightened we must next dispel an illusion respecting...

Man Is Neither Good-natured Nor Bad-natured According To Su Shih
The difficulty may be avoided by a theory given by Su Shih ...

Life And Change
Transformation and change are the essential features of life;...

The Absolute And Reality Are But An Abstraction
A grain of sand you, trample upon has a deeper significance t...

The Resemblance Of The Zen Monk To The Samurai

Let us point out in brief the similarities between Zen and Japanese
chivalry. First, both the Samurai and the Zen monk have to undergo a
strict discipline and endure privation without complaint. Even such
a prominent teacher as Ei-sai, for example, lived contentedly in such
needy circumstances that on one occasion[FN#81] he and his disciples
had nothing to eat for several days. Fortunately, they were
requested by a believer to recite the Scriptures, and presented with
two rolls of silk. The hungry young monks, whose mouths watered
already at the expectation of a long-looked-for dinner, were
disappointed when that silk was given to a poor man, who called on
Ei-sai to obtain some help. Fast continued for a whole week, when
another poor follow came in and asked Ei-sai to give something. At
this time, having nothing to show his substantial mark of sympathy
towards the poor, Ei-sai tore off the gilt glory of the image of
Buddha Bhecajya and gave it. The young monks, bitten both by hunger
and by anger at this outrageous act to the object of worship,
questioned Ei-sai by way of reproach: Is it, sir, right for us
Buddhists to demolish the image of a Buddha? Well, replied Ei-sai
promptly, Buddha would give even his own life for the sake of
suffering people. How could he be reluctant to give his halo? This
anecdote clearly shows us self-sacrifice is of first importance in
the Zen discipline.

[FN#81] The incident is told by Do-gen in his Zui-mon-ki.

Next: The Honest Poverty Of The Zen Monk And The Samurai
Previous: The Social State Of Japan When Zen Was Established By Ei-sai And Do-gen

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