The Proper State of Mind

Ep. 7 When wolves were discovered in the village near master shoju's temple, shoju entered the graveyard nightly for one week and sat in zazen. This put a stop to the wolves' prowling. Overjoyed, the villagers asked him to describe the secret rites he had performed. 'i didn't have to resort to such things,' he said, 'nor could I have done so. While I was in zazen a number of wolves gathered round me, licking the tip of my nose, and sniffing my windpipe, but because I remained in the right state of mind, I wasn't bitten. As I keep preaching to you, the proper state of mind will make it possible for you to be free in life and death, invulnerable to fire and water. Even wolves are powerless against it. I simply practice what I preach.' Season 3 Of the ultimate realization of Zen, Acharya says, "Suddenly you become aware of a music that has always surrounded you… Your heart throbs in the same rhythm as the heart of the whole." This essential Zen reader also dips into a number of other themes - cowardice, boredom and restlessness, recognition and rejection, maturity, and moving from the non-essential to the essential.