Learning To Be Silent

[guty]

Learning To Be Silent

The pupils of the Tendai school used to study meditation before Zen entered Japan. Four of them who were intimate friends promised one another to observe seven days of silence.

On the first day all were silent. Their meditation had begun auspiciously, but when night came and the oil lamps were growing dim one of the pupils could not help exclaiming to a servant: "Fix those lamps."

The second pupil was surprised to hear th first one talk. "We are not supposed to say a word," he remarked.

"You two are stupid. Why did you talk?" asked the third.

"I am the only one who has not talked," concluded the fourth pupil.

[Kyokugen]

so what's the essence of this story?, I read it and for me I just catch the funny point LOL...

[supergroup7]

I like that story, guty. How about this one?

A Vow of Silence

A man joins a Tibetan temple. He takes a vow of silence but is allowed to say two words every year. After an arduous 12 months of eating rice, sleeping on a wooden bed with a raggedy blanket, and working 14-hour days in the field, the man goes to the head monk and says, “More blankets.”

Another year passes, and he visits the head monk and says, “More food.” The man goes through one more year eating good meals and sleeping well, but he’s drained by the long days of work. He calls on the head monk and uses his two words to say, “I’m leaving.”

“Good,” the head monk replies. “You’ve done nothing but complain since you got here.”

[jcc]

Oh dear, supergroup7, that´s old but still made me laugh - just what I needed on this gloomy evening. Thanks