WHENEVER YOU FEEL HURT
This is Zen master Hakuin story on Hurt. Hakuin was one of the most influential figures in Japanese Zen Buddhism. This Zen story of Hakuin’ s life can teach us how to handle when people hurt you. How you can handle emotional pain. This Buddhist story is must read for those people who get hurt very quickly by someone’s words and then are unable to recover from it.
Once upon a time, there was a Zen master named Hakuin who lived on the outskirts of a village in Japan. He was very famous and had a great reputation. The whole village respected him. Whenever he would go to the village for alms, people would greet and welcome him and give him many things.
But one day everything changed. A young and unmarried girl in the village became pregnant, and gave birth to a child. When her family asked about the child’s father, she said that it was Hakuin’s child. The girl’s father was enraged. He gathered people in town and walked to Hakuin’s place. It didn’t take long for people to change.
Those people who once respected him, now attacked Hakuin’s hut and started abusing him. They set Hakuin’s hut on fire. Hakuin came out and asked, “What’s the matter?” People shouted, “This child is yours! Take him with you.” Hakuin said, “Is it so? Is this child mine?” Just then the child started crying, so he started singing a song to calm the child. Hakuin didn’t argue or say anything. People left the child with him, and left from there.
After a few months, one day Hakuin went to the village to beg for alms with the child ,but every door he stood in front of was slammed shut. While he walked by village roads, a crowd of people started teasing him, abusing him, and throwing stones at him. Hakuin reached the house of the girl whose child it was. He said, “Don’t give food for me but at least give some milk for this child. I may be at fault but what’s the fault of this child?”.
The child was crying incessantly and the girl was unable to bear the sound of it. She fell at her father’s feet and confessed that she had lied about Hakuin being the father of her child. She had done so to protect the real father’s identity and had used Hakuin’s name as a cover-up.
The father realized what a great mistake he had made. He ran out of the house and fell at Hakuin’s feet and tried to take the baby. Then Hakuin asked, “What’s the matter?” The girl’s father said, “Please forgive me. This child is not yours”. Hakuin replied, “Is this so? Is the child not mine?” Hakuin gave the child to the girl’s father and started to leave from there.
Just then, people from the crowd said, “Are you mad!! Why did not you deny at that time? Hakuin replied, “What difference would it have made? The child must belong to somebody. You had already burnt one hut; you would have just burnt one more. You had enjoyed defaming one person and you would have enjoyed defaming one more”.
People said, “The child wasn’t yours. Everyone condemned you, insulted you, and humiliated you. Your good reputation was lost. Everyone thought you were a bad person. Still, you didn’t say anything. Why?.”
Hakuin replied, “I am neither bad nor good.” I am simply myself I have dropped this idea of being good and bad. I am not concerned with either your respect or your disrespect. I do as I feel right and you do whatever you feel to be right.
The story of Zen master Hakuin teaches us several valuable lessons.
The first lesson is about equanimity. Hakuin remained calm and composed in the face of adversity even when he was being accused of something he didn’t do. He didn’t let his emotions get the better of him and instead, chose to remain centred and grounded. Equanimity is a state of mind that enables us to remain calm and composed in the face of adversity. It is a higher state of happiness that is steady, and long-lasting.
Second lesson is acceptance, Equanimity leads to acceptance because it allows us to accept things as they are .Hakuin accepted the child that was left with him ,even though he knew it wasn’t his . But still, he didn’t argue or try to defend himself. He simply accepted the situation as it was , and did what he could to help the child.
Third lesson is non-judgment. Equanimity leads to non-judgment because it allows us to see things as they are without getting caught up in our own biases or opinions. Hakuin didn’t judge the people who had attacked him or accused him of wrong doing. He understood that they were acting out of ignorance and he didn’t take their actions personally.
We can also apply these lessons from Hakuin’s story to our own lives, by cultivating equanimity in our own minds. When we face difficult situations, we can learn to remain calm and centred, rather than getting caught up in our emotions or judgments. We can learn to see things as they are, rather than getting caught up in our own biases or opinions. By cultivating equanimity, we can find greater peace and happiness in our lives. We can learn to accept ourselves and others as they are, without judgment or criticism. We can learn to see the world with greater clarity and understanding, rather than getting caught up in our own preconceptions or beliefs. And we can learn to live our lives with greater purpose and meaning knowing that we are doing what is right for ourselves and for others.
