3 Zen Stories That Solidify My Writing Spirit

On good days, bad days, and days I think of quitting

Since time immemorial, Zen stories have taught the world how to live a meaningful and peaceful life. The beauty of the stories lies in the fact that they still hold the same meaning even after ages of change and evolution. In fact, they have strengthened in their purpose, while the world around them is losing its own.

My journey as a writer has seen its own share of ebbs and heights, each bringing along its own influx of emotions. And there have also been days when I think I am not cut out for this and am ready to hang my boots.

These stories have been able to keep me rooted throughout these tumultuous rides and helped me keep at it.

One day a young student, aspiring to become a famous martial arts master, came to a Buddhist monk and asked, “Sir, how long will it take me to become a maestro?”

The monk replied, “Ten years.”

Not expecting that long a tenure, the student impatiently said, “Holiness, ten years is a long time. I want to be a master quickly. I will work five more hours than the other student, will sleep less, and practice all day. Then how long will it take?”

The monk paused and replied, “Twenty years.”

• Easy and fast success comes once in a blue moon. Success is a slow pot recipe. Any skill needs time to be mastered. So, I am all ready to give my skills enough time to grow and bloom.
• I take each day as an opportunity to sharpen my blade a little more. Learn a little more; focusing on what I can do and achieve today.
• When I come across talented writers and see their success, I remind myself that they have started somewhere and have traversed their journey. I have to take a leaf from their book and move, rather than be in a hurry to reach that space.
• Success cannot be apportioned to hours. Working hard is a necessity, but burning out is a hindrance. It will only slow down the process. I work hard but also remember to put my feet up and unwind.

Once, a renowned professor came to meet a monk and enquire about Zen. The monk welcomed him and invited him for tea.

After seating his guest, the monk poured tea into the professor’s cup. It soon filled up, but the monk kept pouring into it. Perplexed with this behavior, the man asked, “Learned One, the cup is already full. Why are you still pouring the tea? It will hold no more.”

The monk smiled and replied, “You have come to me as this cup- filled till the rim. You will not hold whatever I give you. You need to empty your cup first”.

• The ability and the willingness to learn is a fundamental pillar of growth. Michelangelo at 87 had said-

I am still learning. The moment I say I know, I stop growing.

• I learn new trades, new skills, and keep upgrading myself. And today knowledge is everywhere. You just need to access it.
• I keep my hunger to learn more in an always-ignited mode. No knowledge is ever a waste. It finds its application somewhere.
• Holding presumptions and assuming someone’s worth is a big mistake many of us make. Assessing someone’s success with a number- number of followers, number of articles, etc. can only be a missed opportunity to learn something new. I consume content stand-alone, with no prejudice against the author.

A scholar came to his master and said, “Master, I am having trouble in doing my meditation, I am feeling distracted and unable to focus. I am even falling asleep at times! Please guide me”.

The monk said in a flat tone, “It will pass”.

A few months later, the student came in excited and told the monk, “I have mastered the meditation now. I can sit in pure concentration for hours now. I am feeling extremely happy and contended. Thank you, Master.”

The monk said in a flat tone, “It will pass”.

• If I hold on to success, I will crumble when I encounter failure. And if I carry my failure, I will just let success pass through. I have to treat them equally. See what worked in success and what did not, in failure.
• Failure (and rejection) is a better teacher than success. Whenever publications have rejected me, I have strived harder to work on the story.
• On days that I am at the nadir of my spirits and think of quitting, this story reminds me that the only way I can go now — is up. And I start afresh.

As Ernest Hemingway had said —

We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.

There can never come the point in a person’s life when one can rightly claim that he/she has amassed all that can be learned and has perfected a skill. There is always some room to improve.

Carrying a learner's attitude, like Zen teaches us, opens our minds to gather more of what we aspire.

A famous dialogue in the movie The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly was — Every gun makes its own tune. Though it referred to guns, it holds the reflection of life too. In the good, bad, and ugly days, it all comes down to how one tunes oneself.

Keep learning, keep writing.