Two monks, Tanzan and Ekido, were once traveling together down a muddy road. It was raining heavily in those parts. Coming around a bend, they met a lovely girl in a silk…

Mokusen Hiki was living in a temple in the province of Tamba. One of his adherents complained of the stinginess of his wife. Mokusen visited the adherent’s wife and showed her his…

During the Kamakura period, Shinkan studied Tendai six years and then studied Zen for seven years; then he went to China and contemplated Zen for thirteen years more. When he returned to…

Anyone walking about Chinatowns in America will observe statues of a stout fellow carrying a linen sack. Chinese merchants call him Happy Chinaman or Laughing Buddha. This Hotei lived during the T’ang…

A man died… When he realised it, he saw God coming closer with a suitcase in his hand. God: Alright son, it’s time to go. Man: So soon? I had a lot…

A master was strolling through a field of wheat when a disciple came up to him and asked, “I can’t tell which is the true path. What’s the secret?” “What is that…

Sometimes, your biggest weakness can become your biggest strength. Take, for example, the story of a 10-year-old boy who decided to study judo despite the fact that he had lost his left…

One evening, Zen master Shichiri Kojun was reciting the sutras when a thief entered his house with a sharp sword, demanding “Your money or your life.” Without any fear, Shichiri said, “Don’t…

Once, when a spiritual teacher and his disciples began their evening meditation, a cat who lived in the monastery made such noise that it distracted them. So the teacher ordered that the…

The old Master instructed the unhappy young man to put a handful of salt in a glass of water and then to drink it. “How does it taste?” the Master asked. “Awful,”…