Kindness

A young pre-med student came to visit his friend, who was studying Zen while in college. He asked his friend what was this thing called Zen.

"I do not know how to explain Zen to you, but I can tell you that when you reach an understanding of Zen you will never be afraid of death."

The pre-med student decided, after speaking at length with his friend, that he wanted to try this Zen, so he asked his friend where he could find a teacher. His friend gave him the name of his own teacher and sent him on his way. When he contacted the teacher, the man looked at the pre-med student and said, "Hello my friend. It has been such a long time. I have missed you. Please tell me how you have been."

The student was greatly confused as he had never seen or met the teacher before in his life. "We have never met. Why do you believe we know each other?"

"You are, of course, correct. I have you confused with another young man, another medical student, who is already studying with me."

Though he had it in his mind to challenge the teacher when he met him and to test his instruction, this bizarre introduction was so unsettling to him, he was reluctant to say anything and he simply asked the teacher if he might be accepted as a student and receive instruction in Zen from him.

The teacher said, "Zen is easy. You are to be a physician. You need only treat your patients with kindness and care. That is your Zen.

The student returned to the teacher several more times. Each time, the teacher told him exactly the same thing. He told the student, who had finally become a physician, why do you come here. You are wasting your time. Please return to your home and your practice. You need to be taking care of your patients and showing them the kindness I mentioned.

The student/doctor was becoming more confused with time. He did not understand how this simple instruction would ever help him and how he would overcome his fear of death. Finally, one time, while he was with the teacher, he told him, "When I first inquired about Zen with my friend, he told me that Zen was a way to overcome my fear of death. He sent me to you to learn Zen. However, all you have ever told me is to show kindness and treat my patients with care. I have always known this. If you have no intention of providing me with an instruction beyond this, I will cease to come here and study with you."

"I have obviously been much too strict with you. I need to change the instruction you are receiving from me. Instead of this talk, I will give you a koan to contemplate." With that he gave the student a koan entitled "The Dune", which is designed to be a mind-enlightening problem.

The student studied the problem for three years. When he believed he had finally arrived at a point at which he had clarity of mind, he returned to his teacher. However, his teacher rejected him and told him to work harder because he wasn't there yet.

The student continued to study and contemplate the koan for two more years. During this time he also expanded his practice. He was known as a caring and kind physician. He also reached out to his many patients, taking time to listen and to become involved in their lives. As the months passed, he had become free of concern about the daily stress,and of life and death.

The next time he visited his teacher, the teacher smiled.