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From: colonel@gloria.UUCP (George Sicherman)
Newsgroups: net.singles
Subject: Re: Zen master and student
Message-ID: <853@gloria.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 27-Jan-85 22:41:45 EST
Article-I.D.: gloria.853
Posted: Sun Jan 27 22:41:45 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 2-Feb-85 11:38:23 EST
References: <252@stat-l>, <1064@houxm.UUCP> <1651@pucc-h>
Organization: SUNY-Buffalo Computer Sci.
Lines: 19

> > It seems there was once a master and a student.  The student asked the
> > master one day "What is the meaning of the Tao?"  The master slapped
> > the student in face and said, "If you have to ask then obviously you do
> > not understand."
> 
> 1.  The master's line is so obvious that it's hardly worth saying.
> 2.  This is exactly the kind of perfectionistic attitude that is killing me
>     -- the idea that any lack of knowledge or understanding is a sin deserving
>     painful punishment.

It's not perfectionistic!  Here's another well-known story:

	The master said to the student, "If you do not utter a word
	of zen I will strike you, and if you utter a word of zen I will
	strike you." The bewildered student said nothing.  The master
	slapped him.
-- 
Col. G. L. Sicherman
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