Zen Flesh, Zen Bones: Real Prosperity

     A rich man asked Sengai to write something for the continued prosperity of his family so that it might be treasured from generation to generation. Sengai obtained a large sheet of paper and wrote: 'Father dies, son dies, grandson dies'. 
     The rich man became angry. 'I asked you to write something for the hapiness of my family! Why do you make such a joke as this?' 'No joke is intended', explained Sengai. 'If before yourself your son should die, this would grieve you greatly. If your grandson should pass away before your son, both of you would be broken-hearted. If your family, generation after generation, passes away in the order I have named, it will be the natural course of life. I call this real prosperity.

Zen Flesh, Zen Bones: Black-nosed Buddha

     A nun who was searching for enlightment made a statue of Buddha and covered it with gold leaf. Wherever she went she carried this golden Buddha with her. Years passed and, still carrying her Buddha, the nun came to live in a small temple in a country where there were many Buddhas, each one with its own particular shrine. The nun wished to burn incense before her golden Buddha. Not liking the idea of the perfume staying to the others, she devised a funnel through wich the smoke would ascend only to her statue. This blackened the nose of the golden Buddha making it especially ugly.

Zen Flesh, Zen Bones: A Parable

      A man travelling across a field ecountered a tiger. He fled, the tiger after him. Coming to a precipice, he caught hold of the root of a wild vine and swung himself down over the edge. The tiger sniffed at him from above. Trembling, the man looked down to where, far below, another tiger was waiting to eat him. Only the vine sustained him. 
     Two mice, one white and one black, little by little started to gnaw away the vine. The man saw a luscious strawberry near him. Grasping the vine with one hand, he plucked the strawberry with the other. How sweet it tasted.

     Am invartit parabola asta in cap de cateva ori, dar tot ma macina o intrebare: de ce sunt doi soricei, unul alb si celalalt negru?

Zen Flesh, Zen Bones, Penguin Books