Once upon a time, in a city called Nadezhda, there lived a young man whose name was Joe. Joe studied the dharma diligently and received a Buddhist name. He was named Musin. Joe lived just like everyone else. He went to work, he had a wonderful wife. However, despite his interest in the dharma, Joe was a know-it-all and unpleasant person. It got to the point that after one of his antics at work, his boss told him: “I’ve had enough, Joe. You're fired! Joe was left without a job. When he came home, he found a letter from his wife: “I’ve had enough, Joe. I'm leaving." Joe only has an apartment left. However, Joe Musin was not one to give up easily. He vowed that, despite the absence of a job and a wife, he would learn the true value of life - enlightenment. Joe hurried to the nearest bookstore. He looked through a bunch of the latest books on achieving enlightenment. He found one of them particularly interesting. It was called “How to Catch the Train of Enlightenment.” He bought this book and read it carefully. When the book was completely studied, Joe collected his meager belongings into a backpack, left the house and, leaving the apartment, headed to the railway station located on the edge of the city. The book said that whoever follows all the instructions will be able to make it in time for the train to depart. "Wonderful!" - Joe thought.
Joe came to the station, which was located in a deserted place, re-read the book, remembering all the instructions, and prepared to wait. He waited and waited and waited. The book said that the Train of Enlightenment must definitely come. Joe believed the book desperately. On the fourth day, somewhere in the distance, a strong, incredibly loud beep was heard. “This must be the Train,” Joe thought. He got ready. He was so happy about the arrival of the Train that he could hardly believe his eyes... and... whack... The Train passed by! Only one vague outline flashed before my eyes. What's happening? Joe couldn't get on the train!
Joe was upset, but didn't give up. He pulled out the book again and repeated some of the exercises again. He tried his best, giving his all to the end. Three or four days later, Joe heard the buzzer again. This time he was confident that he would get on the Train. Everything happened very quickly... whack... The train left. What to do? Obviously it was a train. Joe was sure of this, but he failed to get on it. He took up the book even more diligently. He worked and worked. However, the train always passed by.
As time went on, other people bought the same book. Joe's company was starting to grow. At first it included three or four people, but then the number of people waiting for the train increased to thirty or forty people. The excitement was incredible! Everyone heard the whistle of the Train and, despite the failures, firmly believed that someone would be lucky and would be able to get on the Train. The success of one can inspire others. Thus the crowd grew and the excitement increased.
Over time, Musin noticed that many people brought small children with them. The parents were so absorbed in waiting for the train that their children’s requests for attention were invariably answered: “Don’t bother me, go play.” Small children were left to their own devices. Musin, who was not so bad after all, thought: “Everyone likes to wait for the train, but someone has to take care of the children too.” He began to devote some time to children. Having rummaged through his backpack, he found several nuts, raisins, and a chocolate bar and gave them to the children. Some children were hungry. Some had skinned knees. Musin pulled a bandage out of his backpack and bandaged them. In addition, he read fairy tales to the children from books they brought with them.
Musin continued to spend some time waiting for the Train, but taking care of his children became his main occupation. There were more and more of them. A few months later, teenagers appeared, filled with wild energy. Musin organized a baseball team for them, which trained in the backyard of the station. In addition, he planted a garden and taught teenagers to care for it. Eventually, Musin's enterprise grew to enormous proportions. There was less and less time left to wait for the Train, this angered Musin. Why should he take care of the children while their own parents are waiting for the Train? Anger and irritation began to boil within him. However, Musin knew that he had to take care of the children, and regularly fulfilled his duties. The number of people waiting increased to hundreds and thousands. The number of children and relatives also grew. The needs of people grew rapidly. Soon Musin was forced to expand the station. He added sleeping quarters, built a post office and a school. He was always busy, but anger and resentment accompanied him everywhere. “I need enlightenment. Everyone around is waiting for the train, but what am I doing?” However, he did not give up his work.
One day Musin remembered that, while going through the books stored at home, for an unknown reason, he took one of them with him. Musin pulled out a book from his backpack. It was called “How to Do Zazen.” Joe has a new set of instructions. He seemed fine. Joe sat down and learned zazen. Every morning he woke up, sat on his pillow and practiced for a while. Over time, the restless and responsible responsibilities that fell on Joe’s shoulders ceased to seem difficult to him. He began to think about the possible connection between zazen and the peace that had begun to come to him lately. Several more people appeared, disappointed in their unsuccessful attempts to get on the Train. These people joined Joe. The group practiced zazen every morning, never ceasing to expand the enterprise of waiting for the Train. At another station down the road, a new colony of people waiting appeared. They began to have the same problems, so members of Musina's group began to go to the neighboring station and help the newcomers cope with difficulties. Then a third station appeared... The work increased.
They were really busy. From morning to evening they fed children, did carpentry, processed mail, opened a new small hospital - the community needed to exist and survive. All this time they did not remember the Train. Sometimes they heard a beep. A particle of envy and malice remained in them. However, they still felt changes. An attempt to describe what was happening in his own book turned into a turning point for Musin. He gathered his group in a corner of the station, and for four or five days they sat in zazen. One day they heard the whistle of the Train, but they ignored it and remained seated.
Finally, Musina passed fifty. His appearance reflected the results of many years of hard work. He looked hunched and worn. However, now he no longer worried about the things he had worried about before. He forgot about all the philosophical questions that beset him: “Do I exist?”, “Is life real?”, “Isn’t everything around me a dream?” Mussin was so busy sitting and working that everything melted away, leaving only the needs of the current day. The anger melted away. The “big” questions have melted away. All that was left was what needed to be done. However, Musin no longer felt a duty, he simply acted.
Now there was only a huge community of people who lived at the railway station, worked, raised children, and finally, waited for the Train. Some gradually returned to ordinary society, replaced by newcomers. Musin fell in love with the people waiting for the Train. He served them and helped them. Years passed like this. Musin grew older and older, and felt more and more tired. The number of remaining questions tended to zero. There was only life and Musin, every second doing what was necessary. One night Musin thought: “I’ll sit up all night. I don't know where this idea came from. However, I will follow it." Sitting ceased to be for him a means of search, an attempt at improvement, a way of achieving holiness. All these ideas melted away many years ago. For Musin, sitting was just sitting. He heard the sounds of passing cars, felt the chill of the night air, and enjoyed the changes in his body. Musin sat up all night and at dawn heard the whistle of the approaching Train. The train pulled up to the station and stopped very gently right in front of Musin. And then Musin realized that he had been on the Train from the very beginning. Moreover, he himself was a Train. There was no need to wait. There is nothing to comprehend. Nowhere to go. Only the integrity of life. All old questions resolved themselves. And, in the end, the Train evaporated, leaving only the old man sitting in the night.
Musin groaned and rose from his pillow. He went to make morning coffee for those who arrived at work. He was last seen in a carpentry workshop. Together with the older children, he made swings for the playground.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru