Zen's Witness

A Zen's Witness monk was proseltyzing door-to-door when he came to the house of an average lay-person. After the man answered, the monk greeted him.

"Hello, do you have a moment to talk about Zen?"

"Oh, no, I really don't have any time right now..." the man replied, quite uninterested.

"But, all time is an eternal present. If you didn't have time now, when else could you have time?" asked the monk.

"Alright, you got me with that one, come on in." The man invited the monk in for tea and they began discussing Zen, though he still hoped to end the conversation quickly. "Look, I'm not really interested in committing myself to any monastery or anything."

"Of course not," replied the monk, "all attachment is suffering."

"Right... well, are you here to tell me what I can gain from your religion?" the man wondered.

"Oh yes" the monk said with a smile. "Through Zen study and meditation, you can achievement enlightenment. If you want to. You don't really have to." The man becomes a little more interested.

"Oh, well, what do I get out of achieving enlightenment?"

"Before enlightenment, mountains are just mountains and clouds are just clouds. After enlightenment, mountains are just mountains and clouds are just clouds."

"That, uh, doesn't sound like much of a change. How long does it take?" the man inquired.

"It may never happen no matter how long you try for the rest of your life. It might happen tomorrow when you're looking at a cloud."

"Huh. Well, I've never meditated before, is it like praying?"

"No, it involves sitting still and clearing your mind. You still might have thoughts, but you watch them drift by, like clouds."

"Boy, what is it with you and the clouds?" the man asked. And the monk was enlightened.

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Some Nobody's Commentary:

When we seek not to seek, we often find something, whether we want to or not. Perhaps the monk should have went cave-to-cave instead.

Submitted January 08, 2019 at 01:45AM by MonetizeTheEschaton http://bit.ly/2CVSy3Q