-- The Last Rap --

Tangen had studied with Sengai since childhood. When he was twenty he wanted to leave his teacher and visit others for comparative study, but Sengai would not permit this. Every time Tangen suggested it, Sengai would give him a rap on the head.

Finally Tangen asked an elder brother to coax permission from Sengai. This the brother did and then reported to Tangen: "It is arranged. I have fixed it for you start your pilgrimage at once."

Tangen went to Sengai to thank him for his permission. The master answered by giving him another rap.

When Tangen related this to his elder brother the other said: "What is the matter? Sengai has no business giving permission and then changing his mind. I will tell him so." And off he went to see the teacher.

"I did not cancel my permission," said Sengai. "I just wished to give him one last smack over the head, for when he returns he will be enlightened and I will not be able to reprimand him again."

----!!!!----

This is the beauty of Zen. You leave your master to go to another master and still he expects that you will get enlightened. But your so called religious leaders are very jealous. If you leave one organized religion and join other, they will become angry with you. They will clamor that you are a betrayer. Their unity is more important than your enlightenment! Why this is so? Because unity is politics. The whole basis of all the so called religions are faith. And the more people are there to support their faith, the safer they feel. If people start leaving their organized religions, their self-confidence starts shaking. Your so called religious leaders are not different than political leaders. If thousand people come and shout that Bible is correct then it will become correct. If thousand people come and shout that Koraan is correct, it will become correct. This is their logic. Such a leader is follower of his followers. If all his followers leave him and join other religion, his whole self-confidence will get shaken. He will not understand what is going on. He will commit suicide!
And now people have started to know the dogmas of these so called religions. So now religious leaders say that their religion is not a religion, it is in fact a way of living. But who the hell they are to preach anyone else the way of living. Who gave them right? A person living thousand years ago wrote a book about so called 'way of living' and that corpse book is called as scripture and it shows the 'way of living' to modern people!
No! Zen is staying away from all these dogmas. Meditation is the search of freedom, liberation from the dead past. This is why Zen masters say:
Zen is leaving Buddha behind
and seeking your own way within yourself
and learning from your own experience!