ZenStory4

Benjamin read the book on meditation that Miranda had given him during their last meeting. He wanted to learn it well before meeting with her again. So, he had tried to follow the instructions as well as he could: to sit still, to close his eyes, to focus on his breathing, to not hold on to any particular thought, to just become the observer of what is happening without placing any judgment at all. Still, he wasn't sure if he was doing it right, so how could he measure his progress? Also, some days it seemed easier than others and so he usually didn't bother with it on the days when it didn't seem to work so well. After all, there was always so much else to do. If he could just avoid those low energy days altogether! He planned to ask Miranda more about these topics. Since it was spring break, it was the perfect time to take a walk into the forest and meet her once more, and so he did. young man meditating under a tree

"Hi Miranda, I am ready for another story."
"So glad to see you, Benjamin. Make yourself comfortable and tell me how things are going for you."
"You know, I was trying to practice meditation and I was hoping you could give me some more guidelines. I wasn't sure how I can know whether I am doing it right or not. I am kind of new to that whole idea, but I know that it helps many people and so I want to continue to try, if it can help me to be more even tempered, more focused, and more at peace with myself, at least most of the time."

"You got some good prerequisites to learn here, because the first step to learn something is to realize that one is lacking the skill one wants to learn. You have noticed that you sometimes have a hard time concentrating, and that there are times when you don't feel quite at peace with yourself. On other days everything flows perfectly. Let us see if the crystal ball can show us a story that gives some more guidelines on meditation. Ready?" she asked.
"Yes, I am very curious about this one."

The crystal ball lit up again and Benjamin saw a young monk and an older one talking about meditation. The young

one asked his master. "What must I do to reach the next level of meditation? Could you please tell me what the most important thing is when meditating? I have done all the things as I was told in the past. Last week I practiced paying attention to my breath and I was counting to 500 while breathing, not missing a single breath. Please tell me my next step, so I can grow." "Yes," said the master, "your next step is, and this is quite important, not to think about a purple monkey. Do you think you can do that?" "Oh yes, that will be easy," replied the student, because he never thought of purple monkeys. When he came to the master the next time, however, he had to admit: "It was really very hard not to think about a purple monkey this particular time, because every time I thought of your instruction, the image of a purple monkey came into my mind, and now the monkey is really stuck in my mind."
"Wonderful," said the master consoling him with a big smile. "This lesson was to show you that you don't really need any more instructions. Just remember to spend a little time meditating every day, and especially on those days when you don't feel like it, because that is the time when you will progress the most. Do not mind about the purple monkey or about no purple monkey," he said smiling again, "or else he will never leave you . Just realize that the purple monkey doesn't matter." Both of them started to laugh while the picture in the crystal ball was fading away. The younger monk laughed in relief and the older monk, because it was so funny.

"How did you like this story, Benjamin? Do you see what it is trying to tell you?" "Zen masters aren't too keen on giving clear instructions, are they?" he said with a smirk. "When we do ask them something, then they always point back to us and try to make us experience something."

Miranda smiled. "The fact that this particular story came up suggests that you don't need any more instructions and that if you ask for them anyway, then you will get them until you will find them annoying."

Author's note:
An active mind wants ways to measure its success and it wants to know how much has been achieved. Both these concepts are exactly what Zen does not want. Also the mind should not think about instructions, which are just another way to evaluate what one is doing (was I able to follow the instruction?).

I thought that this story illustrated very well that it is hard to give instructions on a topic that requires the mind to be still. It is difficult to tell people to do nothing when meditating. On the other hand, instructions what not to do are also problematic as the story illustrates so well.

Of course, instructions may be needed in the beginning, but it should not be the final goal to follow certain instructions. So, the Zen master gives an instruction that is impossible to be followed, because every time the student thinks about the instruction, he violates the rule of not thinking about the purple monkey.

I also thought that the picture of the purple monkey was well fitting, because the monkey looks a bit mischievous, as if he enjoys distracting the student. That is exactly what the instruction is doing also; it mischievously distracts the student and thus lets him know to not long for anymore instructions.

This concludes the Zen stories and I hope that there are no more questions about Zen or meditation. If you have more questions, remember not to think about a purple monkey, but never mind if you do. Thanks for visiting this storybook.