Buddhist Parable 4: Attachment (Neither Hatred nor Love)

It once happened that a monk, having awakened to the Way under the eminent Master Fu Shan, went to reside in a famous monastery.

Although living among the Great Assembly, he did not practice meditation or seek guidance in the Dharma; all he did all day was lay sleeping.

Upon hearing this, the abbot arrived at the meditation hall, a big staff in hand. Seeing the guest master reclining with eyes closed, he admonished: “This place does not have surplus rice to allow you to do nothing but eat and rest!”

Reply: “What would you, High Master, advise me to do?”

The abbot said: “Why don’t you sit in meditation?”

Answer: “Succulent food cannot tempt those who have eaten their fill.”

The abbot continued, “A great many people are unhappy with you.”

Answer: “If they were happy, what would I gain?”

Hearing these unusual replies, the abbot inquired further, “Who was your master?”

Answer: “I arrived here after having studied under the eminent Master Fu Shan.”

The abbot said, “No wonder you are so headstrong!”

They then clasped hands, laughing aloud, and headed toward the abbot’s quarters.

One day, many years later, the guest Zen Master, having washed himself, ascended the Dharma seat, bid farewell to the Great Assembly, wrote a parting stanza, immediately dropped the pen and expired in a seated position. The guest master, as we can see, conducted himself easily and freely, having mastered life and death.

Is it not because he had truly internalized the meaning of the passage, “When neither hatred nor love disturbs our mind, serenely we sleep?” (Quotation from the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch Hui-neng.)

Note: True cultivators always have a clear and solid position and viewpoint, and pay no attention to the praise and criticism, likes and dislikes of the outside world.

Source: Thus Have I Heard Buddhist Parables and Stories