A young doctor from Tokyo named Kusuda met his school friend who was studying Zen. The young doctor asked him what Zen was.
“I can’t tell you what it is,” said the friend. “But I know one thing for sure. If you understand Zen, you should not be afraid of death.”
“Great,” said Kusuda. “I’ll have to try this. Where can I find a teacher?”
“Go to Master Nan-in,” his friend advised him.
So, Kusuda got ready to go to Master Nan-in. He carried with both of them a dagger, nine and a half inches long, to check whether the teacher himself was really not afraid of death.
Koga Nan-in saw Kusuda, he exclaimed:
“Hello, friend! How are you? It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other!”
This puzzled Kusuda and he replied:
"We've never met before." “That’s right,” replied Nan-in. “I confused you with another doctor who studied here.”
After this start, Kusuda lost all opportunity to test the master, so he asked if he could learn Zen.
Nan-in said: “Zen is not a difficult thing. If you are a doctor, treat your patients with kindness. This is Zen.”
Kusuda came to Nan-in three times and three times Nan-in said the same thing: “A doctor should not waste time here. Go home and take care of your patients.”
Kusuda was not clear how such training could drive away his fear of death. So on his fourth visit, he complained: “My friend told me that when a person learns Zen, his fear of death disappears. Every time I come to you, all you tell me is: take care of your patients. I know that very well. If this is your so-called Zen, I will not come to you anymore.”
Nan-in smiled and patted the doctor on the shoulder: “I was too hard on you. Let me give you a koan.”
He suggested that Kusuda work on the problem of Zetu “Ti” (nothingness), which is the first problem for enlightening the mind in a book called “The Gate Without Entry.” Kusuda solved this problem for “Ti” for two years. At the end of this period it seemed to him that he had achieved certainty of mind. But the teacher said: “You are not ready yet.” Kusuda continued his concentration studies for another year and a half. His mind became calm.
The problem gradually disappeared and that became the truth. He treated his patients well, and without even knowing it, he was free from life and death.
When he visited Nan-in again, his old teacher only smiled.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru