Zen stories

Zen Story 1:

Two monks were once traveling together down a muddy road.
A heavy rain was falling. Coming around the bend,
they met a lovely girl in a silk kimono and sash,
unable to cross the intersection.

"Come on, girl," said the first monk. Lifting her
in his arms, he carried her over the mud.

The second monk did not speak again until that night
when they reached a lodging temple. Then he no longer
could restrain himself. "We monks don't go near females,"
he said. "It is dangerous. Why did you do that?"

"I left the girl there," the first monk said.
"Are you still carrying her?"

Zen Story 2:

Hogen, a Chinese Zen teacher, lived alone in a small temple
in the country. One day four traveling monks appeared and
asked if they might make a fire in his yard to warm themselves.

While they were building the fire, Hogen heard them arguing
about subjectivity and objectivity. He joined them and said:
"There is a big stone. Do you consider it to be inside or outside your mind?"

One of the monks replied: "From the Buddhist viewpoint everything
is an objectification of mind, so I would say that the stone is inside my mind."

"Your head must feel very heavy," observed Hogen,
"if you are carrying around a stone like that in your mind."

Do you understand the meanings that lie within the Zen stories?

Both of the stories came with a same meaning which is, letting go. If we can free our mind from things that bothering us, life could be happier. If we could let go the angers, let go the jealousy and let go the negatives thoughts, our life would be easier.

If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything;
it is open to everything. In the beginner's mind there are
many possibilities, in the expert's mind there are few.

Shunryu Suzuki-Roshi