See Right at Once

Ep. 5 Dogo had a disciple called soshin. When soshin was taken in as a novice, it was perhaps natural of him to expect lessons in zen from his teacher the way a schoolboy is taught at school. But dogo gave him no special lessons on the subject, and this bewildered and disappointed soshin. One day he said to the master, "it is some time since I came here, but not a word has been given me regarding the essence of the zen teaching." dogo replied, "since your arrival I have ever been giving you lessons on the matter of zen discipline." "what kind of lesson could it have been?" "when you bring me a cup of tea in the morning, I take it; when you serve me a meal, I accept it; when you bow to me, I return it with a nod. How else do you expect to be taught in the discipline of zen?" soshin hung his head for a while, pondering the puzzling words of the master. The master said, "if you want to see, see right at once. When you begin to think, you miss the point." Season 2 Some of the best known Zen stories are used here to illustrate the nature of enlightenment, meditation, love, knowledge and knowing, man's misplaced identification with his ego, and other issues very relevant today.