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Here’s the Zen story you're referring to—it’s simple, brief, yet carries deep insight. It’s often told in Zen circles to highlight presence, acceptance, and the non-dual nature of experience:
🧘♂️ The Monk Who Slipped
A Zen monk once slipped on a rock, fell, and cried out in pain:
“Ouch!”
A fellow monk nearby said,
“You are a Zen practitioner. How can you say 'ouch'?”The fallen monk replied:
“It hurts, and I said ‘ouch’. That is all.”
🪷 Commentary
🔹 1. No Pretense, No Suppression
Zen does not deny human experience. Pain happens. Saying “ouch” is not unspiritual—it is real, natural, and authentic.
There is no need to suppress or "spiritualize" reality.
Enlightenment is not artificial detachment—it is being fully present with what is.
🔹 2. Direct Experience
In Zen, truth lies in direct experience, not conceptual explanation. The monk did not attach to the pain or dramatize it—he simply acknowledged it.
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No resistance
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No indulgence
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Just clarity and response
🔹 3. Non-Duality in Action
To cry “ouch” does not mean the monk has fallen into ignorance or ego. In Zen realization, there is no “holy” or “unholy” moment.
Pain and clarity can coexist.
Enlightenment does not make you superhuman. It makes you intimately human.
🔹 4. Freedom from Judgment
The other monk’s question reflects a misunderstanding: assuming that a spiritual person should always appear serene or unaffected.
But true Zen is not about appearances—it’s about truth without filters.
🧭 Reflection (SBQ-style)
When pain or difficulty arises, do you:
Suppress it to appear spiritual?
Over-identify with it?
Or, like the monk, allow it to arise and pass without clinging?
Would you like a similar Zen story about anger, ego, or awakening through daily action?
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