Walking Zen
They started their journey early the next morning and in the true spirit of Zen each walked along engrossed in his own thoughts, and so they journeyed for many hours…
Shake it off and Step Up
One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. For hours, the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally he decided the animal was old and the…
Musashi’s Disciple
He led him far into the mountains to a place where a tree trunk lay across a ravine, a dizzying, deep chasm. "There," said the master, "walk over."
The Mayonnaise Jar and 2 cups of coffee…
A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar…
Good Luck, Bad Luck
An old man and his son worked on a small farm, with only one horse to pull the plough. One day the horse ran away. “How terrible,” sympathized the neighbors…
The Four Flies
A Samurai was calmly eating his supper in a small inn, ignoring four flies, which kept buzzing round him. Three Ronin (masterless samurai) came in: they looked enviously at the…
The Fisherman and the Samurai
A long time ago during the reign of the Tokagawa Shogunate a samurai set out on an errand. Precisely one year ago to the day he had lent 10 koku…
The Challenge
One day a hungry old man entered a small village and noticed a sign proclaiming the name of a local Iaido school. Knowing that it was customary for a dojo’s…
Matajuro and the Art of the Sword
Matajuro Yagyu, son of a renowned master of the sword, was relegated by his father, who believed his efforts were not sufficient to become a true master. Matajuro, who had…