The Novice Monk's Night Wandering

Chan education holds compassion as its mother, skillful means as its father, and teaches not through words but through quiet, lived example.

【Koan】

During Japan’s Edo period, Zen master Sengan Giban led a temple home to more than a hundred disciples studying under his guidance. Among them was a young novice, still very much a child, with a heart full of playful energy. After dinner each evening, he would sneak off to the back garden, set a tall stool against the wall to use as a step, and climb over to play outside.

One night, the novice was sneaking out for his usual night wandering when Master Sengan came out to patrol the dormitories. He spotted the tall stool left in the back corner and knew someone had slipped out of the temple. The master didn’t raise the alarm, though. He quietly moved the stool aside, then stood at the foot of the corner and waited. When the novice returned from his night out, he had no idea the stool had been moved. He stepped straight onto the master’s shoulder to jump down, and only then realized who he was standing on. Panic washed over him, and he didn’t know what to do with himself.

But Master Sengan was warm and gentle through and through. He didn’t scold the boy at all. Instead, he comforted him: “The night air is cool as water—mind you don’t catch a chill. Hurry back and put on an extra layer of clothes!”

【Dharma Words for Nurturing the Mind】

Though Master Sengan never spoke of the incident to anyone, no one in the temple went out for night wanderings after dinner ever again.

Master Sengan brought about the intended educational outcome by choosing encouragement over blame, and care over punishment.

Chan education has long held compassion and skillful means as its guiding principles, caring for every disciple with the heart of a parent to the world. Even the occasional sharp reprimand, or the traditional Chan stick-and-shout admonishment, is reserved for moments that fit the student’s capacity, as an expression of great compassion and great skillful means.

For today’s teachers and parents, the first step is to observe each child’s nature and innate capacity before tailoring your guidance to them. True education only takes root through love, care, support, and patient direction.

【Notes】

① Patrolling the dormitories (xún liáo): In Chan monasteries, this refers to the abbot visiting every dormitory across the grounds to check in on elderly and sick monks, check for shortages in dormitory supplies, and attend to any similar needs. This practice dates back to the Buddha’s lifetime: the Blessed One would inspect the monks’ quarters every five days for five key reasons: to keep disciples from fixating on trivial worldly tasks; to stop them from obsessing over mundane debates; to prevent them from falling into excessive sleep; to check on monks who were ill; and to let young monks observe the Blessed One’s calm, dignified, and solemn demeanor, so they would feel joy in their hearts.