The Monk who can be cut into 10 Pieces
I was browsing through some old notes and found this story. I heard Master Chang recount it about 20 years ago! I would love to hear what it means to you...
The Monk who can be cut into 10 Pieces
During the 1950’s the Chinese invaded Tibet. All the monks had to flea to the hills before the armies stormed the monasteries. The army went to one monastery, however, and discovered one monk still there meditating in front of the Buddha. The soldiers were scared of him so went back to their general to report what had happened. The General decided to see for himself what was happening. Upon arriving, the General said, “I can cut you up into ten pieces why do you sit there and do nothing?” The monk shouted, “because I am the man you can cut up into ten pieces”. The general realised he could not kill him spiritually and bowed to the monk with respect.
The Monk who can be cut into 10 Pieces
During the 1950’s the Chinese invaded Tibet. All the monks had to flea to the hills before the armies stormed the monasteries. The army went to one monastery, however, and discovered one monk still there meditating in front of the Buddha. The soldiers were scared of him so went back to their general to report what had happened. The General decided to see for himself what was happening. Upon arriving, the General said, “I can cut you up into ten pieces why do you sit there and do nothing?” The monk shouted, “because I am the man you can cut up into ten pieces”. The general realised he could not kill him spiritually and bowed to the monk with respect.
posted by Tammy Parlour at 3:17 AM
1 Comments:
Shall I post this on the right topic now.
To me this illustrates non-resistance and the water principle as well as highlighting the nature of suffering.
The monk chooses a path of non-resistance to the invading army & calmly meditates. In this he shows that he is free of the fear of violence or death and so understands the nature of existence & suffering.
When he speaks to the general they both recognize that the general has no power over the monk, all he can do is kill him.
In this was he uses the water principle. Since the general’s power lies in physical violence the monk counters this by removing the fear of that violence.
What I like about this is that it can be read as a contest of wills that the monk wins. This is not the case though because there is no contest.
This is a story where the general leaves with a greater understanding of his own power & it's limits.
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