Hakuin and the Accusation

Last updated on: October 3, 2021 at 5:29 pm by Spiritual Naturalist Society

Hakuin and the Accusation 2021-10-03T17:29:35-04:00 Spiritual Naturalist Society

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Daniel Scharpenburg

A zen story:

A zen teacher named Hakuin lived in a small hut outside of a village. He had a great reputation and was liked by all.

One day a poor young woman in the village became pregnant and lied to her parents. She told them Hakuin was the father.

After the baby was born this young woman’s parents took the baby to Hakuin’s hut and said, “you got our daughter pregnant! You must take care of this child. We can’t afford it!”

They were very angry.

Hakuin said, “is that so?”

And accepted the baby, raising it as his own in his small hut.

This woman had ruined Hakuin’s reputation. People thought he was a wise and virtuous teacher and suddenly they didn’t think that anymore. They thought he was a creep. No one would be coming to learn from him any time soon, he obviously couldn’t be trusted.

And he just responded with patience. He could have responded with anger. He could have aggressively denied the accusation. He could have called the young woman crazy or evil. Would that have worked? Would they have listened to a denial? Who knows.

Instead his attitude was just, “Okay, I guess I’m raising a child now.”

He took care of that baby for over a year. It’s said that he took really good care of it. He borrowed milk from a neighbor and fed and clothed the baby, caring for all it’s needs, raising it as though it were his own.

A year went by and the young woman confessed. The baby’s father was a fisherman or something.

The parents came back and apologized to Hakuin for ruining his reputation and giving him the baby. They said they’d take the baby back since it wasn’t his responsibility.

And Hakuin said, “Is that so?”

And he let them take the baby he had cared for. This must have been hard on Hakuin. He had plenty of time to bond with this child and then he had to face what a lot of foster parents have to face. He had to just let the child go.

So, Hakuin can teach us something about how to handle drama. He was attacked and he handled it with humility and stoicism. He didn’t even worry about his reputation, he just did what had to be done.

Subscribe to The Spiritual Naturalist Society

Learn about Membership in the Spiritual Naturalist Society

__________
The Spiritual Naturalist Society works to spread awareness of spiritual naturalism as a way of life, develop its thought and practice, and help bring together like-minded practitioners in fellowship.

Uncategorized

buddhism

Zen

Previous Post

September 30, 2021

A Healthy Scepticism

Next Post

October 3, 2021 Jewish Religious Tradition and Spirituality in a Naturalistic Perspective

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Spiritual Naturalism Uncategorized

Select a Month August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 August 2017 July 2017 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 January 2015 December 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 April 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz