Zen Parable #53

"The Magician and the Prince"

Once upon a time in a faraway kingdom there lived a bright young prince who believed in all things but three. He did not believe in volcanos, he did not believe in princesses, and he did not believe in God.

One clear summer day, under a sky as blue as corydalis, the prince took his horse on a long, long ride, beyond the boundaries of his father's vast dominions. Near the summit of a high mountain he met a strange old man. This foreigner spoke to the prince of his own homeland, near the volcanoes, among gentlemen and beautiful princesses.

The prince did not believe these stories, so he demanded to see proof. With the old man, he traveled for another day until they passed a pair of princesses on the road, and later climbed to the rim of a volcano.

The prince hurried home on his steed, and ran straight to the king. "Father! I have seen volcanos! I have seen princesses! I have seen God!"

"But son," the king replied, "volcanos, princesses and God do not exist."

"I saw them!"

"Tell me what God looked like." So the prince described the long beard and the unusual hat as he remembered them. The king sat back and laughed. "You have described a magician. You did not meet God. You were fooled. The princesses and volcanos were simply illusions."

Disappointed, the prince hopped right back on his horse to cross the hills and find the old man. "You lied to me," he said. "My father is the king and he has explained your tricks. There are no volcanos and there are no princesses."

"Aha," said the old man. "I haven't tricked you. There are volcanos and princesses in your kingdom as well, but you can't see them because you are under your father's spell. For he is a magician as well."

When the prince returned home again, he looked his father in the eyes and asked him, "Is it true, father, what they say? That you are not a real king, but just a magician?"

"Yes, son, I am only a magician."

"So the man in the faraway land really was God."

"No son, that man was just another magician."

"But I must know the real truth, beyond magic."

"But there is no truth beyond magic," said the king.

At this the prince sunk his head in despair and declared, "I will kill myself."

So the king used his magic and called on Death to appear. The prince trembled in fear. His thoughts then returned to the incredible volcanos, and especially to the beautiful princesses.

"Alright then," he said. "I can bear it."

"Very good, my son," said the king. "You too are becoming a magician!"

(based on a story by John Fowles)

May all your holiday dreams come true this year! Best wishes from Bambu Batu, where fashion and philosophy converge.

Zen you can count on

Among Western laymen, few realize the full breadth of knowledge commanded by an accomplished Zen master. We may appreciate their expertise in the subtleties of the medical, the physical and the metaphysical, yet much of their insight in matters more mundane gets overlooked.

Consider the lesson of one Zen master on the basic subject of arithmetic. He presents his students with this simple story.

"In our village, there once lived this man," the teacher begins. "He had five hundred dollars, and over the course of his life he gave away four hundred dollars. How much money did the man have when he died?"

Quickly and confidently, the students reply, "One hundred dollars!"

"No," says the teacher, "you are mistaken. It might look that way, but the deeper truth is that if he had five hundred dollars here on Earth and gave away four hundred, then at his death he would have had four hundred dollars. Because in the end, all you have is what you have given."

Song of the Day: "The End" by The Beatles.

Everything Flows

As we prepare for the major undertaking of relocating the House of Bamboo, it's a good time to pause and reflect on the fact — sometimes hard to swallow — that everything is always in a state of flux. Or as the ancient Greeks were wont to say, "Pantha rhei," that is, everything flows. And as other philosophers have pointed out, "The more things change, the more they remain the same." The Tao, like a steady stream, is in constant motion, permanent transition.

Consider the following story, about a boy, the son of a hardworking peanut farmer in the inner Shandong province. One autumn, at the annual harvest festival, the young lad is awarded a handsome young horse for having grown the largest peanut in all the province, some eight inches in length.

The boy gallops back to his village at top speed and shares the great news with his family and friends. Hearing the story and admiring the healthy steed, the boy's father proclaims, "This is truly marvelous! What good fortune you've brought on our family."

Overhearing this brief exchange, the local Zen master nods his head and surmises, "We'll see."

Over the course of weeks, the boy and his horse become inseparable companions. Productivity on the farm increases; the family is in high spirits. But one night, in a fierce storm, the horse gets spooked by thunder, breaks loose and disappears. The boy is devastated and grief stricken. "Oh, what a disaster," his father declares.

Looking on, the Zen master scratches his chin and mutters, "We'll see."

Another week goes by, and one morning the horse is seen coming over the hillside, returning to the farm with a new mare at his side. The boy and his family are ecstatic. "What wonderful news, son!" "Yes, daddy, everything is awesome now!"

The Zen master, hearing the commotion, raises his eyebrows. "We'll see."

The boy now spends all his spare time — getting up early and staying out late — working in the stables to break in his new mare. She's a healthy mount, but stubborn too. One evening after supper, the boy takes her on a run across the field. In the dim twilight she grazes an irrigation ditch and throws the boy from his saddle. A small crowd has gathered when the village doctor arrives. He makes a splint for the boy's leg which has been broken. "He'll walk again, but I'm afraid he'll always have a limp."

"Oh, what rotten luck," says the father. And the Zen master sighs, "We'll see."

Another year passes, and kingdom is now in turmoil. Mongol hordes are raiding many of the provincial villages, and the emperor is recruiting soldiers from the countryside. When they come to the farm of the boy, now a young man, he is exempted from military service on account of his limp. "Oh, thank heavens!" his mother declares.

The Zen master, observing from a distance, just shrugs his shoulders and mumbles, "We'll see."