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Once there was a Zen monk who got angry every now and again. He would argue with his fellow monks and was always looking for something wrong to complain and whine about, and always telling others his troubles. A fellow monk told him to go see the roshi and ask for help. The roshi lived two miles down the road. He explained his problem to the roshi, who said, “Take my staff, and hold on to it. Whenever you get angry my staff will remind you to come to me and that will get rid of your anger for you.”
The monk returned to his quarters and soon became very angry at another monk. He looked at the staff, and remembered the roshi, and he jogged the two miles all the way. The roshi asked, “What is wrong?” The monk replied, “I got angry.” The roshi said, “Show me your anger.” But in the jogging the anger went away. He had nothing to show, and said, “I am not angry right now.” The roshi said, “Go back to your quarters, and when you get angry again come and tell me about it.” The next day he got angry again. He ran to the roshi and the same thing happened, his anger disappeared. This went on about twenty-five times.
Finally, the roshi said, “I'll tell you what to do now. When you get back to your quarters take my staff. When you get angry beat the living hell out of your anger with it.” This was so funny to the monk that he became realized. He became enlightened. He realized he would be using the staff to beat himself, and that his real self could never get angry. It was his body that appeared to be angry. He had run back and forth twenty-five times and the answer the roshi gave him made him open his eyes and become enlightened.
So it is with us. Do not look at your problem as a problem. Look at it as a no-thing. It does not exist. If your ego does not exist, if your body does not exist, if your mind does not exist, how can you be angry? Where would it come from? Who gave it birth? This is true of any other problem you believe you have. Just watch it. It will disappear, and you will awaken to your true self.
Robert Adams
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