Every wandering monk who managed to win a debate about Buddhism with one of the monks already living there could stop at the Zen temple. If he suffered defeat, he was supposed to move on.
Two brother monks lived together in a temple in northern Japan. The elder was a scientist, and the younger was stupid and crooked in one eye. One day, a wandering monk asked for shelter, summoning them, as expected, to a debate about the intricacies of the doctrine. Tired of studying for the day, the older brother ordered the younger brother to go in his place. “Go and propose to discuss in silence,” he warned him.
The young monk and the wanderer entered the temple and sat down there. Soon the stranger stood up and went to his older brother.
He said: “Your younger brother is a wonderful guy, he won the dispute.” “Tell me how it happened,” the elder asked. “So,” the wanderer began, “first I raised one finger, representing Buddha, the Enlightened One. He raised two fingers up, denoting Buddha and his teaching. Then I raised three fingers, symbolizing the Buddha, his teachings and his followers living in harmony. At this he shook his clenched fist in front of my nose, indicating that they all came from the same awareness. That's why he defeated me and I can't stay here anymore.
Having said this, the traveler left. - Where is he? - asked the younger brother, running in. - I realized that you defeated him. “I didn’t win, but now I’ll finish him off!” - Well, tell me about the dispute. “As soon as he saw me, he immediately raised one finger, impudently hinting that I only have one eye. Since he is a stranger, I decided to be polite to him and raised two fingers, congratulating him on having both eyes. Then this shameless scoundrel raised three fingers, showing that we only have three eyes between us. Then I became furious and was just about to beat him when he ran away.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru