By Paulo Coelho
After ten years of study, Zenno believed that he was ready to be made a Zen master. One rainy day, he went to visit the famous teacher Nan-in.
When Zenno went into the house, Nan-in asked:
‘Did you leave your umbrella and your shoes outside?’
‘Of course, I did,’ replied Zenno. ‘It’s only polite. I would do the same thing anywhere.’
‘Then tell me this: did you place your umbrella to the right or to the left of your shoes?’
‘I haven’t the slightest idea, master.’
‘Zen Buddhism is the art of being totally aware of one’s every action,’ said Nan-in.
‘Lack of attention to apparently minor details can completely destroy a man’s life. A father hurrying out of his house must never leave a dagger within reach of his small son. A Samurai who does not polish his sword every day will find that when most he needs it, the sword has grown rusty. A young man who forgets to give flowers to his beloved will end up losing her.’
And Zenno understood that, although he had a good knowledge of Zen techniques when applied to the spiritual world, he had forgotten to apply them to the world of men.
Welcome to Share with Friends - Free Texts for a Free Internet
As I revamped my Around the World in 52 Countries challenge to better fit with the 1001 Books list, the Paulo Coelho book that came off was The Zahir, which was replaced by his The Devil and Miss Prym simply to kill two goals with one stone. More parable than novel, The Devil and Miss Prym was intended to be the Brazil stop in my reading around the world, but as it’s set in a small, mountainous French village named Viscos, it again proves the point that so many of my books are not set in the countries where the author themselves was born, and don’t really tell me a whole bunch about life in his or her original setting…
This article was written by Ragdoll. Please, visit the site My Tragic Right Hip to continue to read the article.
Teetering precariously on 3 inch heels I shift the books from my right to left arm and grab a hold of the handrail as I make my way down the stairs. I am finding today’s library selections to be completely cumbersome. Strangers cast looks of bewilderment and of skepticism my way. I am quite the comedic scene, petite young lady dressed to the nine wrestling a stack of books up to her eyeballs in stilettos, but strangely their stares fill me with a sense of pride…
This article was written by Katharine. Please, visit the site “I’ll have my cake and eat it too… preferably with funfetti frosting!” to continue to read the article.
