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Everything Is Best

When Banzan was walking through a market he overheard a conversation 
between a butcher and his customer.
  "Give me the best piece of meat you have," said the customer.
  "Everything in my shop is the best," replied the butcher. "You cannot
find here any piece of meat that is not the best."
  At these words Banzan became enlightened.

If You Love, Love Openly

Twenty monks and one nun, who was named Eshun, were practicing 
meditation with a certain Zen master. 
  Eshun was very pretty even though her head was shaved and her 
dress plain. Several monks secretly fell in love with her. One of 
them wrote her a love letter, insisting upon a private meeting.
  Eshun did not reply. The following day the master gave a lecture 
to the group, and when it was over, Eshun arose. Addressing the 
one who had written her, she said: "If you really love me so much, 
come and embrace me now."

Muddy Road

Tanzan and Ekido were once traveling together down a muddy road. A heavy 
rain was still falling. 
  Coming around a bend, they met a lovely girl in a silk kimono and sash, 
unable to cross the intersection.
  "Come on, girl," said Tanzan at once. Lifting her in his arms, he 
carried her over the mud.
  Ekido did not speak again until that night when they reached 
a lodging temple. Then he no longer could restrain himself. "We monks
don't go near females," he told Tanzan, "especially not young and 
lovely ones. It is dangerous. Why did you do that?"
  "I left the girl there," said Tanzan. "Are you still carrying her?"

Obedience

The master Bankei's talks were attended not only by Zen students 
but by persons of all ranks and sects. He never quoted sutras nor 
indulged in scholastic dissertations. Instead, his words were
spoken directly from his heart to the hearts of his listeners.
  His large audiences angered a priest of the Nichiren sect because 
the adherents had left to hear about Zen. The self-centered Nichiren 
priest came to the temple, determined to debate with Bankei.
  "Hey, Zen teacher!" he called out. "Wait a minute. Whoever respects 
you will obey what you say, but a man like myself does not respect 
you. Can you make me obey you?"
  "Come up beside me and I will show you," said Bankei. 
  Proudly the priest pushed his way through the crowd to the teacher. 
  Bankei smiled. "Come over to my Ieft side." 
  The priest obeyed. 
  "No," said Bankei, "we may talk better if you are on the right side. 
Step over here."
  The priest proudly stepped over to the right. 
  "You see," observed Bankei, "you are obeying me and I think you are 
a very gentle person. Now sit down and listen."

The Giver Should Be Thankful

While Seisetsu was the master of Engaku in Kamakura he required larger 
quarters, since those in which he was teaching were overcrowded. Umezu 
Seibei a merchant of Edo, decided to donate five hundred pieces of 
gold called ryo toward the construction of a more commodious school. 
His money he brought to the teacher.
  Seisetsu said: "All right. I will take it."
  Umezu gave Seisetsu the sack of gold, but he was dissatisfied with 
the attitude of the teacher. One might live a whole year on three ryo, 
and the merchant had not even been thanked for five hundred.
  "In that sack are five hundred ryo," hinted Umezu.
  "You told me that before," replied Seisetsu.
  "Even if I am a wealthy merchant, five hundred ryo is a lot of 
money," said Umezu.
  "Do you want me to thank you for it?" asked Seisetsu.
  "You ought to," replied Umezu.
  "Why should I?" inquired Seisetsu. "The giver should be thankful."

The Most Valuable Thing in the World

Sozan, a Chinese Zen master, was asked by a student: "What is the 
most valuable thing in the world?"
  The master replied: "The head of a dead cat."
  "Why is the head of a dead cat the most valuable thing in the 
world?" inquired the student.
  Sozan replied: "Because no one can name its price."