After many years of peaceful meditation, one Zen monk realized that he was not really enlightened yet. Coming to the master, he said:
- Please, allow me to leave: I will find a hut on the top of the mountain and stay there until I finish my practice.
The master, knowing that he was ripe for enlightenment, agreed. Climbing the mountain, the monk met an old man who was walking down and carrying a large bundle of firewood on his shoulders. The old man asked:
-Where are you going, monk?
He replied:
— I’m going to the top of the mountain; there I will sit and wait for enlightenment, or I will die.
And since the old man looked very wise, the monk felt the urge to ask him:
- Tell me, venerable old man, do you know anything about enlightenment?
The old man, who was in fact the bodhisattva Manjushri (he is said to appear to people when they are ready for enlightenment), threw his bundle from his shoulders and it fell to the ground. At that same moment the monk became enlightened.
- So you want to say that it’s simple - just free yourself and not strive for anything!
Then this newly enlightened monk turned to the old man and asked:
- Well, now what?
In response, the old man bent down, picked up the bundle again and walked towards the city.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru