Affe #223

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Eisai Myōsaru was busy concentrating – he was silence, he was emptiness… For the time being, however, it should only remain an attempt because he was repeatedly interrupted.

As the next little apeling tentatively tugged at his robe, Eisai let out a deep sigh and opened his half-closed eyes. He looked at the intruder with a questioning look and for the next few minutes, he listened to what his disciple had to say hastily, but the little monkey swallowed most of the words out of nervousness. The apelings knew that it was strictly forbidden to disturb the master while he was meditating. But urgent matters called for urgent action, as in this case – at least from the point of view of his disciples. The problems were usually trivial, most involving one monkey unfairly eating something from another. This time it was a bit more serious, because apparently another disciple of Eisai had eaten the peaches intended as offerings. The problem was probably not the disappearance of the peaches, but the other small primates were angry that they didn't have the courage to do it themselves. Eisai shook his head; envy was worse than gluttony. In that sense, everyone was to blame. With a few instructive but also reassuring words for his disciple, Eisai sent him away. He sighed. Now he could finally devote himself to meditation again.

Not even twenty minutes later, he felt someone timidly tugging at his robe again. Eisai only opened one eye this time, raised an eyebrow questioningly, and looked down at another of his disciples. This one hesitantly began to talk, and it turned out that he was the peach thief. In hindsight, he regretted what he had done, mostly because the excess of peaches had given him quite a stomachache. This also explained why he couldn't sit still and was swaying uncomfortably. He told his master that the other monkeys were angry with him and none of them wanted to be with him. Eisai sighed. Gluttony was one thing, but resentment was also reprehensible. He rose from the lotus position and walked over to his cabinet. There he prepared a bowl of tea for the repentant sinner. The physical situation was not that serious, it was only a case of overindulgence. After the tea, the patient felt better and Eisai advised his disciple to rest on a cherry tree at the corner of the garden, which was rarely visited. There he would find some peace from his brothers and let the belly do its work. When the little primate finally went his way, Eisai sighed and continued to meditate.

Fifteen minutes later someone tugged on Eisai's robe again. Eisai was used to it by now. It took all his willpower and years of meditation to look at the next troublemaker without rolling his eyes. However, he couldn't help the sigh he did. Another of his monkey disciples had come. Here, too, Eisai patiently listened to the story of the glum apeling. Eventually he found out that the culprit had only eaten the peaches because he had been provoked with a bet – and the agitator now stood before Eisai with deep remorse. He particularly regretted not having stood by his friend afterwards when all the other monkeys had turned their backs on the peach thief. Now he didn't know where his friend was because he couldn't find him, and he was very worried. Eisai shook his head; pride was as grave an offense as cowardice. He was about to reprimand his disciple, but the sight of the trembling little monkey, which was already close to tears, made him reconsider. He said a few soothing words with a mild rebuke and patted his head. After that he told him about the cherry tree where he would find his friend. He sent the apeling away with the task of seeing if the patient with stomachache was getting better. His disciple hastily set off.

Eisai sighed. From the long shadows of the trees, he saw that the day was far advanced, and it would soon be time for dinner. He wondered if he should try to continue his meditation again. It was always said that meditation was painful in the beginning but would bestow immortal bliss and supreme joy in the end. However, that was not the case this time as he had barely managed to meditate. Perhaps he should end the day today with a different objective: "Direct pointing at the mind of a primate, seeing one's nature and becoming Buddha."

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