The Cat and the Cushion
It was an Autumn afternoon in the temple, and golden sunlight was streaming in through the windows. On the wooden floor, three young disciples sat patiently, awaiting their master. On the floor, sprawling lazily in a sunbeam, a black and white cat was dozing, its tiny snores flying away and getting lost in the emptiness of the large room.
Footsteps marked the Zen master's approach. She walked up to the three students, holding a large, comfortable looking cushion in her hands as she sat down, cross legged on the floor in front of them. The students all looked up, attentive and eager to impress their master, but curious what today's lesson would entail.
“What,” the master said simply, “is this?” As she asked her question, she placed the cushion down on the floor in front of them.
The students exchanged puzzled glances. They were still new at the school, and they often had trouble understanding their master's teachings.
“It's a cushion?” one student asked, a puzzled look on his face.
The master smiled. “This is what we call it, yes,” she said, “but what is it?”
The students were silent for a few minutes. Eventually, another one said, “it's an object meant to be sat upon.”
The master nodded. “This is what its creator intended when it was made, yes,” she said. “But what is it?”
Confused, the students sat in silence for a few more minutes, thinking and trying to understand what they were being asked. Eventually, the third student spoke up. “It is comfort,” he said. “I think,” he added hesitantly.
“That is certainly what it provides,” the master smiled, “but that does not answer my question. Each of you gave an answer, each closer than the last. But you spend too much time thinking. Go now, and meditate on this.”
Silently, the students stood and walked out of the room, still uncertain what the correct answer was. As they did so, the sound of their footsteps woke the cat, whose sunbeam was currently being blocked by a passing cloud.
Looking up, the cat saw he master, sitting nearby with a large cushion. Getting to his feet, the cat languidly walked over and pawed at the cushion. Without hesitation, he stepped onto the cushion, curled up, and went back to sleep.
“My students could learn a lot from you,” the master said to the cat, who half opened one eye and twitched his ear in reply. “Perhaps you should be the master,” she said with a grin.