This ancient story is worth repeating.
The Zen Master Hakuin lived in a town in Japan. He was held in high regard and many people came to him for spiritual teaching. Then it happened that the teenage daughter of his next door neighbor became pregnant. When being questioned by her angry and scolding parents as to the identity of the father, she finally told them it was Hakuin, the Zen Master. In great anger the parents rushed over to Hakuin and told him with much shouting and accusing that their daughter had confessed that he was the father.
All he replied was, “Is that so?”
News of the scandal spread throughout the town and beyond. The Master lost his reputation. This did not trouble him. Nobody came to see him anymore. He remained unmoved. When the child was born, the parents brought the baby to Hakuin. “You are the father, so you look after him.” The Master took loving care of the child. A year later, the mother remorsefully confessed to her parents that the real father of the child was the young man who worked at the butcher shop. In great distress they went back to see Hakuin to apologize and ask for his forgiveness. “We are really sorry. We have come to take the baby back. Our daughter confessed that you are not the father.”
“Is that so?” is all he would say as he handed the baby over to them.
There are many layers of wisdom in this tale. You might see yourself as the daughter, the parents, or the Master. You might notice the suffering associated with attachment and the possibility of freedom from non-attachment. It doesn’t matter if this story is true or not true. In it is the great secret to living above the weeds…above the tangle of fear, un-forgiveness, holding on, worry and judgment.
The secret is this: our self-worth rises from within. It is so.
Peace always
Paula
