My Master's Robe by Thich Nhat Hanh

Author:Thich Nhat Hanh [Hanh, Thich Nhat]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-935209-10-2
Publisher: Parallax Press
Published: 2005-08-10T00:00:00+00:00

“It is like a jack-in-the-box,” Brother Man said. “The springs and toy man in the box are ready, all that is needed is for the button to be pressed and the puppet will pop out.”

“It’s just like that. A Zen master follows his disciple closely. That’s why the time a disciple spends working with his teacher is the link. When the teacher sees the aptitude of the disciple, he will transmit a koan. And when it is necessary to bring down the guillotine on him, he does not hesitate to do so. Usually these guillotines are successful. But there have been times when the master did not thoroughly understand the aptitude of his disciple and he failed.

“Let me tell you the story about a case where the master was successful. The disciple was a very diligent student; he was always present for meditation sessions and his master’s Dharma talks. He was also very intelligent. Sometimes he would imitate his master when he spoke by raising one finger in the manner of a Zen master who is about to say something important. One day when he was attending to his master, he completely forgot himself and solemnly raised one finger as he was about to speak. Seeing this, the master picked up a paper-cutting knife and, grabbing his disciple’s hand, cut off the finger that was raised in the air. In agony the disciple screamed and ran off, and the master ran after him. As the master chased after the student he called out, ‘Disciple!’ The disciple turned to look, and he saw that the master had raised one finger. The disciple also raised one finger, but suddenly he saw that his finger was missing. That’s when he became enlightened, and he bowed his head in deep reverence to his master. Do you think that was a true story?”

Brother Man replied, “I think that was too violent.”

“There were even more violent examples than that one. But the importance lies in the enlightenment. Let me tell you of a case in which the master was not successful. There was a disciple who had been contemplating for a long time on a koan but was still not enlightened. He was very ashamed. The master said to him, ‘Return in three months.’ Three months later there were still no results. ‘Return in three weeks,’ the master told him. Three weeks passed and he still was not enlightened. ‘Return in three days,’ the master said, ‘and if by then you’re not awakened you might as well die — what’s the use of practicing?’ Three days later the disciple returned. The master asked, ‘Where have you got with the koan?’ ‘Respected teacher,’ he answered, ‘I am very ashamed, I still haven’t solved it; I will kill myself.’ The master shouted loudly. The disciple took out a knife and in a flash he pierced his stomach and fell to the ground. The master looked intently into the face of the dying disciple and asked, ‘You have succeeded

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