Article by Christophe Lorreyte. A very beautiful story that teaches us that anyone can meditate even though there was no intention to do so in the first place.
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The "real" secret of meditation
After such a title, I'd better not disappoint you...
But before I share with you the biggest secret of meditation, I'd like to tell you a little story. Here is the story...
A thief who was passing by a Zen master's hut peered in through his window.
He saw the monk sitting in front of a silver box, counting the coins he had just collected for the renovation of a dojo.
The thief waited for the sun to set and entered the modest house, thinking he would find the monk asleep and the box he intended to steal...
He slipped in quietly and, to his amazement, the room was empty. No trace of the monk, nor of the coveted money.
In the center of the empty room where the thief had snuck in was a meditation cushion (zafu).
The thief wondered and his brain began to try to understand the inexplicable, to elaborate theories on the disappearance of the monk who had not left the room.
Where had he vanished to? What was his strange power?
The thief went away and spent the night looking for answers. Then, in the early morning, he concluded that the monk must know the secrets of invisibility.
Eager to acquire this power that would allow him to get rich by stealing and to disappear from the law, he knocked on the door of the hut, found the monk there and said:
"Teach me the secret of invisibility that you used last night."
The monk then answered him without hesitation:
"Of course. The first step is to sit on this zafu.
The thief sat down and the Zen master taught him the right posture and breathing.
The thief became the master's disciple and practiced meditation tirelessly.
Two years passed.
One day the master asked his young disciple this question:
"What was your intention when you came to me to be taught meditation?"
The former thief answered the master in all sincerity:
"I don't remember."
Moral: The path is open to all, even to those who wish to meditate to obtain something, because the practice alone is enough to transform forever the one who has taken this path.
You may ask yourself, "How did the monk become invisible?
The only way to find out is to meditate and expect nothing.
The paradox is that in order to get the benefits you want from meditation, you have to stop looking for them.
That is why, in my opinion, the best definition of meditation is: "just sit".
Nothing more than that.
I hope you enjoyed this little story and that it will help you on your way.
It is a story that I particularly like. |
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