Short story: The Zen master who remained humble, despite criticism of himself
@innertalks (22104)
Australia
December 22, 2024 7:47pm CST
The old Zen master claimed, but only to his students, that he was enlightened, aware, and that his level of consciousness was higher than which a human mind could take one, as the mind of no mind connects to higher consciousness, and then works backwards, through the mind, rather than forwards through the ego, without working with higher consciousness levels at all.
(He would only speak like this to them to show them what they too were capable of.)
A man passing through his monastery, one day, and overhearing the master talking to his students, said to him.
"You are empty of mind, but still full of ego; a higher consciousness does not inflate itself, or parade itself as you are doing, but simply allows itself to be itself rather than try to blow its own trumpet, as it is the trumpet itself through, which higher the knowledge comes through. Higher consciousness is the trumpet; you are only the trumpet player."
The old Zen master frowned, and grimaced, noticeably, but just the same, he responded to this man like this:
The old master moved his countenance miles past its just previous rendition of frowning, to a broad smile, as he winked, and said.
"The oldest master knows nothing, but which the mind of God passes down to him. There is but one mind, and it is God's."
"We have no mind, but we have an ego thinking it is the mind."
"Working from consciousness, rather than from the egoic mind, shows us that it is God thinking through us, when we stay focussed enough to acknowledge his connection to us, through our soul, not through our egoic created mind alone."
"So, yes, you are right in what you said, and if you have thought that it was my own trumpet that I have been playing, I will have to alter my stance, so that all can see better that I only play God's trumpet, never my own."
Photo Credit: The photo used in this article was sourced from the free media site, pixabay.com
We should be vehicles for God, not try to be a vehicle for our self.
1 person likes this
1 response
@Shiva49 (26782)
• Singapore
23 Dec
A few attain higher consciousness, and they cannot stay in that frequency if they have to guide others towards the right path.
Talking over the heads of others will serve no purpose but may stroke the ego of the talker.
I aim to understand who I am talking to and make them comfortable for a fruitful tête-à-tête.
Being humble can be misinterpreted too. I never liked to talk down to others, but that was frowned upon by a CEO, as he thought I was not assertive enough.
I can never forget a remark by a CEO - "You pretend to be a gentleman", Soon he apologized in a roundabout way "Everyone has moods that take over judgment."
1 person likes this
@Shiva49 (26782)
• Singapore
20h
@innertalks When I attend some religious get-togethers, I see a few who get carried away with their supposed higher learning of rituals that cross humility and even leave ego behind!
Like a tree that droops when laden with fruits, the learned should remain humble amid the hoi polloi.
1 person likes this
@innertalks (22104)
• Australia
14h
@Shiva49 Yes, I do not know if rituals really have a place in anything, as to me, they are all mind-numbing, mindless exercises, in nothing much at all.
They tend to arm people with an elite specialness of feeling, that they know the ritual, the magic formulas, and others do not.
Even martial arts are like this too, and they will not teach some stuff to you until you are worthy of it, and fulfilled all of the earlier rituals.
Rituals, to me, dull the mind that should remain sharp, and aware, at all times, and be listening to the inner prompts, not be switched off by blind rituals, that do nothing but keep you where you are, with the ritual, nowhere much at all.
