Nirvana The Last Nightmare ~ 03
| event type | discourse |
| date & time | 13 Feb 1976 am |
| location | Chuang Tzu Auditorium, Poona |
| language | English |
| audio | Available, duration 1h 33min. Quality: good. |
| online audio | |
| video | Not available |
| online video | |
| see also |
|
| online text | find the PDF of this discourse |
| shorttitle | NIRVAN03 |
- notes
- synopsis
- Reader of the sutra: Sw Ananda Teertha.
- The sutra
- Muso, the national teacher,
- And one of the most illustrious masters of his day,
- Left the capital in the company of a disciple
- For a distant province.
- On reaching the Tenryu river
- They had to wait for an hour
- Before they could board the ferry.
- Just as the ferry was about to leave the shore
- A drunken samurai ran up
- And jumped into the packed boat,
- Nearly swamping it.
- He tottered wildly as the small craft
- Made its way across the river.
- The ferryman,
- Fearing for the safety of his passengers,
- Begged him to stand quietly.
- 'We're like sardines in here,'
- Said the samurai gruffly.
- Then, pointing to Muso,
- 'Why not toss out the bonzae?'
- 'Please be patient,' Muso said,
- 'We'll reach the other side soon.'
- 'What!' bawled the samurai, 'me be patient?
- Listen here, if you don't jump off this thing
- I swear I'll drown you.'
- The master's calm so infuriated the samurai
- That he struck Muso's head with his iron fan,
- Drawing blood.
- Muso's disciple had had enough by this time,
- And as he was a powerful man,
- Wanted to challenge the samurai.
- 'I can't permit him to go on living after this,' he said.
- 'Why get so worked up over a trifle?'
- Muso said with a smile.
- 'It's exactly in matters of this kind
- That the bonzae's training proves itself.
- Patience, you must remember,
- Is more than just a word.'
- Then he recited an extempore waka:
- 'The beater and the beaten:
- Mere players of a game
- Ephemeral as a dream.'
- When the boat reached shore,
- And Muso and his disciple alighted,
- The samurai ran up
- And prostrated himself at the master's feet.
- Then and there he became a disciple.
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