Zen students made a vow that they wanted to study Zen even if their teacher killed them. Usually they cut their finger and sealed their decision with blood. Over time, the vow became a mere formality, and for this reason, the student who died at the hands of Ekido began to look like a martyr.
Ekido was a cruel teacher. His disciples were afraid of him. One of them on duty, beating the blows indicating the time of day, missed a blow because he was looking at a beautiful girl passing by the temple gates.
At that moment, Ekido, who was standing behind him, hit him with a stick, and by chance this blow turned out to be fatal.
The students' guardian, hearing about what had happened, went straight to Ekido. Knowing that he could not stand reproaches, he began to praise the master for his harsh teaching. Ekido acted as if the student was alive and nothing had happened.
After this, more than ten enlightened followers were created under his leadership - a completely unusual number.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru