Author Archives: Qiyogalife

Long ago in Japan, a devotee of zen decided to publish the sutras (scriptures), which at the time were only available in Chinese. The books were to be printed with wood blocks in an edition of seven thousand copies, a tremendous task. So he began by traveling and collecting donations for this purpose, from timeContinue reading “A Zen Story : Publishing the Sutras (scriptures)”

Two monks were once traveling together into town. They went through a shortcut passing through the woods. Half way through their travels, they were met with a river cutting across their path. As they prepare to cross the river, they noticed a young and beautiful woman in a fine dress along the side of theContinue reading “A Zen Story: Crossing the River”

There was once a skilled Samurai who was on his journey. He had reached a certain level of mastery that he began experiencing a deeper dimension in life through his practice. Puzzled by his thoughts, he visited a zen master. He asked, “Is there really heaven and hell?”. “Who are you?” inquired the zen master.Continue reading “A zen story: “The Gates of Heaven””

A king once had all the wealth, but he felt continuously torn between happiness and agony and, he would often go into states of rage, disappointment, and depression. He knew something is not right because he had all the material things money can buy, yet his peace and happiness are never lasting. He knew thereContinue reading “A Zen Story: ”This Too Shall Pass””

Once a farmer lost his horse, the neighbor came and said, “I heard you’ve lost your horse, sorry about the bad news.” The farmer simply replied “Who knows whats good or bad?”. A few days later, that horse came back, and it brought back 15 other horses. At the time, if an animal is onContinue reading “A Zen Story: Who Knows What’s Good or Bad?”