Ancient Music in the Pines ~ 01
event type | discourse |
date & time | 21 Feb 1976 am |
location | Chuang Tzu Auditorium, Poona |
language | English |
audio | Available, duration 1h 29min. Quality: good. |
online audio | |
video | Not available |
online video | |
see also |
|
online text | find the PDF of this discourse |
shorttitle | ANCIEN01 |
- notes
- synopsis
- Reader of the sutras/questions: Sw Ananda Teertha.
- The sutra
- Gosa Hoyen used to say:
- 'When people ask me what Zen is like I tell them this story:'
- Noticing that his father was growing old, the son of a burglar asked his father to teach him the trade so that he could carry on the family business after his father had retired.
- The father agreed, and that night they broke into a house together.
- Opening a large chest the father told his son to go in and pick out the clothing. As soon as the boy was inside, the father locked the chest and then made a lot of noise so that the whole house was aroused. Then he slipped quietly away.
- Locked inside the chest the boy was angry, terrified, and puzzled as to how he was going to get out. Then an idea flashed to him -- he made a noise like a cat.
- The family told a maid to take a candle and examine the chest.
- When the lid was unlocked the boy jumped out, blew out the candle, pushed his way past the astonished maid, and ran out. The people ran after him.
- Noticing a well by the side of the road the boy threw in a large stone, then hid in the darkness. The pursuers gathered around the well trying to see the burglar drowning himself.
- When the boy got home he was very angry at his father and he tried to tell him the story; but the father said: 'don't bother to tell me the details, you are here -- you have learned the art.'
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