Watching the Breath*

All was still on the temple grounds.

The sun softened the morning haze

While birds playfully pranced about,

Enjoying the warmth from the sun's gentle rays.

 

Morning meditation ended.

The master excused the monks to do

Their duties. A novice stayed behind

To ask for a private interview.

 

"I understand," he said, "that it's

Time for us to do our chores,

But I have an urgent problem.

Can we speak behind closed doors?"

 

They entered the dokusan chamber where

Regular interviews took place.

The novice closed the door to the chamber.

There they sat, face to face.

 

The novice said, "I don't know

What to do. I'm bored to death

With daily meditation sessions.

I'm SO tired of watching my breath!"

 

The master nodded his head and replied,

"Bored, you say. Hmmm. I see."

He stood up, walked to the door,

Turned and said, "Come with me."

 

He led the monk to the river's edge.

There he grabbed him by the head

And held it under the rushing water

Until the young monk’s face turned red.

 

The novice squirmed and flailed his arms,

"I am going to drown!" he thought.

When the master freed him, the monk

Gasped for air, feeling distraught.

 

Admitting that his strategies

Were such that some would disallow,

The master said to the monk, “Tell me:

Are you bored with your breath right now?"

 

-by Bob B (4-1-19)

 

°An old Zen anecdote retold here in verse