Shoju (Japanese romaji)
born:  
died:  

place:  China? Japan?
Zen master:  
Zen disciples:  
stories:

Osho
Ancient Music in the Pines, ch. 7
   oshobob  The Living Workshop                                            
                                            Zen Masters
When wolves were discovered in the village
near Master Shoju’s temple,
Shoju entered the graveyard nightly for one week
and sat in zazen.
This put a stop to the wolves’ prowling.
Overjoyed, the villagers asked him to describe
the secret rites he had performed.
“I didn’t have to resort to such things,” he said,
“nor could I have done so.
While I was in zazen a number of wolves
gathered round me, licking the tip of my nose
and sniffing my windpipe,
but because I remained in the right state of mind,
I wasn’t bitten.
“As I keep preaching to you, the proper state of
mind will make it possible for you to be free in life
and death, invulnerable to fire and water.
Even wolves are powerless against it. I simply
practice what I preach.”


A simple story, but very meaningful. The master
simply went to the graveyard and sat there for one
week, not doing anything, not even praying, not
even meditating. He simply sat there in meditation
– not meditating, just in meditation. He simply sat
there. That is the meaning of the word ‘zazen’. It is
one of the most beautiful words to be used for
meditation: it simply means just sitting, doing
nothing. ‘Za’ means sitting – he simply sat there.
And this sitting, when the mind is not there and
thoughts are not there, when there is no stirring
and the consciousness is like a cool pool of water
with no ripples, is the right state. Miracles happen
on their own accord...

                                            --Osho
             Ancient Music in the Pines, ch. 7