No Work, No Food

[Jessie Fong]

No Work, No Food

Hyakujo, the Chinese Zen master, used to labor with his pupils even at the age of eighty, trimming the gardens, cleaning the grounds, and pruning the trees.

The pupils felt sorry to see the old teacher working so hard, but they knew he would not listen to their advice to stop, so they hid away his tools.

That day the master did not eat. The next day he did not eat, nor the next. "He may be angry because we have hidden his tools," the pupils surmised. "We had better put them back."

The day they did, the teacher worked and ate the same as before. In the evening he instructed them: "No work, no food."


I read the above short story and wondered if it applied to

- rewarding children with sweets/chocolates/cookies when they finish an assignment
     *is this the correct way to encourage young ones
     *would this turn out that they would relate expecting an reward for completing an assignment

- can this also be translated into working for a living : the food being your reward (also your wages) for the job that you have done for the employer
     *that being so, you do not get your reward for jobs not done - does the employer deduct your wages
     *if he does, is he actually allowed to do so

- can this also means if you do not put in your hard work, there is no fruits/results?


What do you think?   Care to share?  Thank you.

[sonamdhargey]

Thanks Jessie for your post. My opinion about the story is do with the law of cause and effect. The zen master is practicing the way of life based on the law of cause and effect. We reap what we sow. If we just sit around and not work , expecting others to do the work for us while we enjoy the fruits of others, how many times we can do that? Merits can and will run out. Thus The zen master is creating causes for him to have food.

Reward can only work to a certain extent and may cause negative outcome in the long run. Ultimately the individual must be able to understand what the rewards are for and appreciate what he or she has.

[bambi]

I read the above short story and wondered if it applied to

- rewarding children with sweets/chocolates/cookies when they finish an assignment
     *is this the correct way to encourage young ones
     *would this turn out that they would relate expecting an reward for completing an assignment

- can this also be translated into working for a living : the food being your reward (also your wages) for the job that you have done for the employer
     *that being so, you do not get your reward for jobs not done - does the employer deduct your wages
     *if he does, is he actually allowed to do so

- can this also means if you do not put in your hard work, there is no fruits/results?

What do you think?   Care to share?  Thank you.

Thank you for the story Jessie. Sad to say, yes, most of us want reward for what we do. Just like getting my wage at the end of the month for all the time and effort I spent on it. Be it kids or adults, we are not that different. Even animals are the same right? We train them to do a trick and they expect a treat when they do so. Its a good way to encourage anyone provided that the motivation of doing so is for something beneficial. My kids are not the type that likes to go to school and study, so I encourage and nudge them with gifts should they do well at the end of the year. If I want them to wash my car, I'll give them 2 dollars each if and when they complete the task. Its a good experience for them, growing up and learning how to earn instead of just holding out their hands out for something. And they grow up to know they without 'work', there is no 'food'. 

[Tammy]

Jessie, thanks for sharing this nice story. I think the morale of the story is - the old monk is leading his monastic members by setting a shinning example ! He showed the younger generation of the sangha members that they are responsible for their own livelihood. It does not mean, as sangha members, they are now totally dependent on sponsors to support them.

Take responsibility of our lives and do not wait for others to support us.

[Q]

I think it's about discipline! It doesn't matter whether you're the teacher, old, or young... everyone pulls their own weight in some way or another.

Like what my dad always tell me... "Do it yourself, asking someone to eat lunch for you will not make you full."

However, I must say his student really care about their teacher lol! Though it was done in a wrong way, and they were not attentive enough to understand how their teacher would react... but at least they tried something.

[ratanasutra]

i look at it that the zen master want to teach the students to appreciate people hard work and he does not want the students to just take things for granted and been selective which what we should and should not do. In order to be in an ordain person, there will be food offering from lay person but that does not mean we do nothing and just take it. It's something a long the line that if you want to get something you need to work for it, nobody will work for it and give it to you. And if we get something from other we will appreciate it as someone work so hard to get it and give it to us.

     

[hope rainbow]

I agree with Sonam Dargey, NO WORK NO FOOD means NO EFFECT WITHOUT A CAUSE.
Of course, this is a teaching from a Master to his students and it has more levels such as the cultivation of HUMILITY, no matter how high is your throne, you are never too high to get your hands dirty; INTEGRITY, what your teach, you apply and prove your teachings worthy through your actions; RESPECT, your respect the work done by others to get food on the table, and you show it by working with them.
So it is more than a teaching on karma, but at the end of the day, karma is also all that!

[DS Star]

This is the most basic teachings... similar to the "No Pain, No Gain" i.e. English idiom dates back to 1500s.

Call it "Karma" or "The Law of Cause and Effect", the morale of the story is simple if we don't work, we should not enjoy the 'fruits' of other people's labour.

Buddha taught us not to take advantage of other people and that we are responsible for our own actions or "inaction" in the case of "No Work, No Food".

Buddha puts a lot of emphasis on analysis the nature of pain and how we were to over pain. Pain is referred to as the key to open door to liberation or to cease all sufferings.

“This, monks, is the only way for the purification of beings,
for the transcendence of grief and lamentation,
for the extinction of pain and sorrow,
for attaining the right method,
for the realisation of nibb?na;
namely, the four foundations of mindfulness.”

The 4 foundations of mindfulness are:

1. The Body;
2. Feelings;
3. Thoughts; and,
4. Mental States.

[Benny]

I agree with Tammy on this , I am of the opinion that the old monk was setting a good example for the younger monks. It is quite common for many differing sects especially the Mahayana and Zen Buddhist to practice self reliance and sufficiency.

I have personally seen these virtuous monks and nuns toiling in the fields and engaging in all kinds of other homegrown industries all in the name of being self sufficient , eg : the nuns of Chu tse in Taiwan.

Not only is this virtuous practice good for the financial well being of the sangha but it is also very good exercise to maintain a healthy sangha , so that they may live long and healthy to benefit sentient beings. How else do you think that old monk can live till the ripe old age of eighty plus !?

[pgdharma]

Not only is the Zen master trying to teach them that they need to take responsibility of their livelihood but he also taught them humility. Even though he is much senior than any of them, yet he joined them in taking care of the garden.

Sometimes it is good to reward children with some treats to show our support when they finish their assignments or do well in their exams especially the slow learners as this will give them some encouragement.

Employers should deduct the wages of employees who always called in sick and cannot perform. However, if they are good employees they should be rewarded as an appreciation of their hardwork and loyalty to the company.

[brian]

In this modern world, one has to really keep up to their standards and keep improving in order to stay competitive in the market workforce. Employees find it important nowadays to keep improving their knowledge and efficiencies in work. Without working hard, one will/might end up being left out and out battled in the workforce market and stand losing out to the more competitive ones. So we will have to continue to strive harder in order to attain higher standard of living. The world is evolving and you must too. Just like spirituality, everybody is improving on their understanding towards Buddhism and getting attainments through their practice(s). Same goes here, we gotta catch up!

[Tenzin Malgyur]

Dear Jessie, I would interpret this short story as the Chinese Zen master teaching his students to be hardworking. If one is to stop working, then how is he going to get food? The Zen master is showing that since he did not do any work that day, he should not eat. Just as the saying goes- there is no free lunch. As for rewarding children for completing their assignments, I will not encourage this practice as this may cause them to have a wrong thinking of the purpose of their assignments.

[biggyboy]

The old Chinese Zen Master is actually setting an example to his younger pupils of humility by working with them even at his old age.  Secondly, he is also setting another example that mind matters more importantly over body for when there's No Pain there will be No Gain.  Likewise, in this story, he is telling the younger pupils that when one does not work hard how would they be able to feed their own mouth let alone others.

[Manjushri]

No Work, No Food

Hyakujo, the Chinese Zen master, used to labor with his pupils even at the age of eighty, trimming the gardens, cleaning the grounds, and pruning the trees.

The pupils felt sorry to see the old teacher working so hard, but they knew he would not listen to their advice to stop, so they hid away his tools.

That day the master did not eat. The next day he did not eat, nor the next. "He may be angry because we have hidden his tools," the pupils surmised. "We had better put them back."

The day they did, the teacher worked and ate the same as before. In the evening he instructed them: "No work, no food."


I read the above short story and wondered if it applied to

- rewarding children with sweets/chocolates/cookies when they finish an assignment
     *is this the correct way to encourage young ones
     *would this turn out that they would relate expecting an reward for completing an assignment

- can this also be translated into working for a living : the food being your reward (also your wages) for the job that you have done for the employer
     *that being so, you do not get your reward for jobs not done - does the employer deduct your wages
     *if he does, is he actually allowed to do so

- can this also means if you do not put in your hard work, there is no fruits/results?


What do you think?   Care to share?  Thank you.

If you don't do what the master wants, then he ain't gonna do what you want! To me, this are the following 2 reasosn that I can think of:

1. This master is attained and wants to bless his students, by them following his instructions after disobeying it. 3 days of not eating will take a toll on a body of his age but he seemed fine (judging from the tone of the story), so it could work on a level that we cannot see.

2. He just wants things his way. If he doesnt get it his way, he'll throw a tantrum by taking others on a guilt trip through his own sufferings. Alot of times, senior citizens use this tactic of throwing tantrums so that they will get things their way.

I think it is good to train children with rewards for the good work they have done. I feel it is a form of encouragement. The difference, compared to the scenario in this story, is that the students are doing something they compassionately do not feel is right (watching their master having to do gardening) in this story and their  "reward" is their master eating. I guess it is not a reward for them. Anyways, back to the point, children can be trained with rewards and slowly, the rewards get less and less, and they might not even want rewards eventually.

If you do not get your work done, i dont think a boss can deduct your wages, but he can give you warning letter/fire you for not performing.

[Klein]

I think the master is teaching his students on a few topics:
1) Effort: To achieve our goals in life, we need to put in effort. Without it, there will be no real results.
2) Getting your hands dirty: Practise what you teach.
3) Practise compassion: Don't burden others by leaving your work for others to do.
4) Age: Don't let your age be an obstacle or excuse for not achieving your goals. Even at 80, you can still do hard labour.
5) Humility: Even the master does what the students do. With humility, the focus on the importance of the "self" is less and the mind of the person becomes more open to learning.

This master is very wise as he teaches by inspiring his pupils through his actions.