Book of Serenity, Case 94
When Dongshan was unwell, a monk asked, “You are ill, teacher, but is there anyone who is not ill?”
Dongshan said, “There is.”
The monk said, “Does the one who is not ill look after you?”
Dongshan said, “I have the opportunity to look after him.”
The monk said, “How is it when you look after him?”
Dongshan said, “Then I don’t see that he has any illness.”
Last week, Peter Wohl shared some of the most basic Buddhist teachings with us, the life story of Shakyamuni Buddha and the Four Noble Truths. The Cliff’s Notes version, for those who weren’t here, is that 2,500 years ago in India, a pampered prince named Siddhartha Gautama left his palace in search of a cure for sickness, old age, and death. After years of subjecting himself to increasingly self-destructive ascetic practices, he finally turned his back on them, embracing the Middle Way, and achieved enlightenment, awakening to his true nature while meditating under the Bodhi tree.