Rhaul peixoto

This is a well-known Buddhist story that has appeared in many different versions over the past century. There are even Catholic and Jewish retellings. After some digging (with help from reader, Wayne P) the original author of the fable seems to be a famous Japanese Zen master named Tanzan, who was the professor of philosophy during the Meiji period. This particular version of the story is taken from the great book Zen in the Martial Arts, by Joe Hyams, who was a student of Bruce Lee.

I think the lesson of the story is pretty simple. The younger monk has become so trapped by dogma and rules that he has forgotten the most important rule, which is to help those in need. How did you interpret it?

RELATED COMICS: Absorb what is useful. The Master. The Two Wolves.
- FREE SHIPPING on Zen Pencils prints until Sunday!

BUY THE PRINT

Customer: “I’m looking for a Motorola Android phone.”

Me: “I’m sorry, sir. We don’t sell Motorola in this store. We do, however, have several different Android handsets you could take a look at.”

(The customer dutifully looks over several Android phones, before turning to the me. He looks serious.)

Customer: “These are not the ‘droids I’m looking for.”

Sophie Scholl (1921-1943) was a German activist who is famous for speaking out against the Nazi regime. Scholl was a member of a protest group called The White Rose, which was formed by her brother Hans, and some of his university friends. The group mainly consisted of students in their early twenties who were fed up with the totalitarian rule of the government. The Nazis controlled every aspect of society – the media, police, military, judiciary system, communication system, all levels of education and all cultural and religious institutions. The White Rose distributed leaflets urging their fellow Germans to oppose the regime through non-violent resistance.

On 22nd February 1943, after the release of the sixth White Rose leaflet, Sophie, Hans and fellow member Christoph Probst were arrested by the Gestapo and convicted of treason. They were executed that same day by guillotine. Sophie was 21 years old.

UPDATE: The source of this quote has been disputed. It’s been sourced on Wikiquote, but on further investigation by some readers, it can’t be 100% confirmed. It could have originated from a 1991 play about Scholl written by Lillian Garrett-Groag.

- Thanks to Elise for submitting this quote.
- Sophie Scholl: The Final Days is a 2005 German movie that depicts Scholl’s last days and trial. It was nominated for best foreign film at the Oscars. I found the entire film on YouTube, although I’m not sure how long it will remain up.
- In case you missed it last week, someone made a short film based on one of my comics.

October 16, 1969 — see The Complete Peanuts 1967-1970