Zen short story: The weeping Zen master

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The old Zen master, Artop Zerbroski, had a habit of weeping, whenever a student made a misdemeanour, in his monastery. One day, his best student, was caught selling, some of the old writings of the previous master to another monastery, when they were not his to sell. They belonged to the current Zen master of the monastery, handed down to him by his predecessor. The old Zen master gathered all of his students together, and told them of the theft. And then, as was his habit, he began to weep. He cared about all of his students, and he was sad that such a theft had occurred. Then, the old master said, "I cry when I cry, because a loss has occurred, and one should cry, when one should cry." The guilty student stood up, and confessed to his mistake in selling these precious writings that belonged to the history of this monastery. The master's weeping had not touched the student, but his explanation had. The student suddenly realised the weight of his crime against the monastery, and if he himself could ever become the master, there would now be no heritage writings to pass down to him. He had burnt the bridges of his ascension to the masterhood. Nevertheless, when the old master died, he appointed this student as the new master, giving him a chance to not err in his judgement again. The appointment was made, just before the master breathed his last breath. And the new master, became a well-known master, worthy of the name, Zen master. He never could cry though, and he always held in his emotions, preventing him from crying, until one day, when he was on his own deathbed, he looked up, at the picture of his old master on the wall, and cried, then died. Deep within all of us is love, and it is the love in us that cries the tears of love, which cleanses us through to our soul. Such crying is music to our souls. Photo Credit: The photo used in this article was sourced from the free media site, pixabay.com This Zen master was one who wept tears of love for his students.