Enlightening Incident: Buddha as a door stopper

One of my Hospice patients used my Buddha statute as a door stopper.  She did not know Buddha, nor was she aware that this was a religious statue.

I picked it up without words, placed it back, and offered a flower saying: “The Buddha is the Awakened One.  Sometimes the Buddha is a door stopper, sometimes a door opener.”  She was overcome with shame because of the ignorance, at the some time delighted to face the Buddha.  And we both cracked up laughing.

Sometimes the Buddha is a door stopper sometimes a door opener.  One thing follows into another, nothing to grasp.

Mushin Sensei

Prison Ministry Team

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