Hard hitting ways..

The buddhist masters would do everything
necessary to wake the practitioner up
including using a zen stick
this is not to punish the practitioner
but to arouse in them an alertness
in which that one can sit still
and present
there are so many stories of
buddhist masters that have gone to
extremes in order to instill in the student
an alertness --
.....when a shoe is flying at the head
or the body is being thrown in icy water
or one feels a strong sting on the shoulders
and back all of the sudden
there is no time to think
there is just pure presence --
such is the hard hitting beauty
of the masters ways.....