A parable retold and interpreted by Eckhart Tolle, which illustrates through an example how we can practice the conscious “diminishing of the ego” in our lives.
“The Zen master Hakuin lived in a town in Japan. He was highly respected, and many people sought his spiritual guidance. It happened that the teenage daughter of his neighbors became pregnant. When her angry parents showered her with insults and demanded to know who the father was, she said it was Hakuin. Enraged, the parents rushed to Hakuin’s house and, with shouting and abuse, told him that their daughter had confessed that he was the father of the baby. The only thing Hakuin said was: ‘Is that so?’
The news of the scandal spread quickly throughout the town and beyond. Hakuin lost his reputation. This did not trouble him. No one sought his advice anymore. He did not worry. When the child was born, the girl’s parents brought it to Hakuin. ‘You are the father—take care of the baby.’ The master cared for the baby with love.
A year later, the girl, filled with remorse, confessed to her parents that the father was a young man who worked in the butcher’s shop. Ashamed, they went to Hakuin to apologize and ask for his forgiveness. ‘We are truly sorry. We have come to take the baby. Our daughter confessed that you are not the father.’ ‘Is that so?’ Hakuin replied, and he handed them the baby.
The master responded to lies and to truth, to bad news and to good news, in the same way: ‘Is that so?’ He accepted the form the present moment—bad or good—took; he accepted it as it was, and in this way did not become entangled in human drama. He did not personalize events. He was nobody’s victim. He was in such complete unity with what was happening that it no longer had power over him. Only if you resist what happens will you be at the mercy of events, and the world will determine your happiness and unhappiness.
Hakuin cared for the baby with love. The bad turned into good through the power of non-resistance. By giving the present moment what it required, Hakuin returned the baby when the time came for it to be taken back.
Imagine for a moment how the ego would react at the different stages of the events described above.”
— Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth
I first read this story about Hakuin as told by Osho. In moments when I have felt angry because of some injustice, I have remembered it, and it has brought me calm. Although I have not always been able to refrain from an inner reaction, I have always sensed the feeling of freedom that comes from understanding the meaning of what is happening to me—and from knowing that I have a choice to respond differently to what is happening.
Kameliya
