Worse Than a Clown

image from: www.thundercloudstudio.com

There was a young monk in China who was a very serious practitioner of the Dharma.

Once, this monk came across something he did not understand, so he went to ask the master. When the master heard the question, he kept laughing. The master then stood up and walked away, still laughing.

The young monk was very disturbed by the master’s reaction. For the next 3 days, he could not eat, sleep nor think properly. At the end of 3 days, he went back to the master and told the master how disturbed he had felt.

When the master heard this, he said, “Monk, do you know what your problem is? Your problem is that YOU ARE WORSE THAN A CLOWN!”

The monk was shocked to hear that, “Venerable Sir, how can you say such a thing?! How can I be worse than a clown?”

The master explained, “A clown enjoys seeing people laugh. You? You feel disturbed because another person laughed. Tell me, are you not worse than a clown?”

When the monk heard this, he began to laugh. He was enlightened.

("160 Zen Stories", http://spiritualinquiry.com)

-----------------

Quote:

Zen is beyond the state of logic. Its practice is to examine thoroughly the life of a common person, and to steer clear of stifling rigidity and abstraction.

(Tsai Chih Chung, "The Book of Zen Freedom of The Mind")

Lebih Payah Daripada Seorang Badut

Ada seorang biksu muda dari Cina yang sangat serius menjalankan praktik Dharma.

Suatu ketika, terlintas sesuatu hal yang tidak ia mengerti, sehingga ia pergi untuk bertanya kepada gurunya. Ketika sang guru mendengar pertanyaannya, ia tertawa terus. Sang guru kemudian berdiri dan pergi, sambil terus tertawa.

Biksu muda itu sangat terganggu dengan reaksi gurunya. Selama 3 hari, dia tidak dapat makan, tidur, ataupun berpikir dengan baik. Akhirnya, ia menemui gurunya dan menceritakan betapa terganggunya dia.

Ketika sang guru mendengar ini, dia berkata, "Biksu, apakah kamu tahu masalahmu? Masalahmu adalah KAMU LEBIH PAYAH DARIPADA SEORANG BADUT!"

Biksu tersebut kaget mendengarnya, "Yang Mulia, mengapa kamu berkata demikian? Bagaimana mungkin saya lebih payah daripada seorang badut?"

Sang guru menjelaskan, "Seorang badut senang melihat orang-orang tertawa. Sedangkan kamu? Kamu merasa terganggu ketika orang lain tertawa. Jelaskan pada saya, apakah kamu tidak lebih payah daripada seorang badut?"

Mendengar hal ini, biksu tersebut mulai tertawa. Kemudian, dia tercerahkan.

-----------------

Kutipan:

Zen mengatasi logika. Latihannya adalah dengan mengamati seluruh kehidupan orang biasa, dan menjauhi keterpaksaan dan keabstrakan.

(Tsai Chih Chung, "Zen Membebaskan Pikiran")