Here is the story of Hakuin, the Zen monk.
Hakuin was a famous monk. One day, his neighbour's daughter got pregnant. When asked, the girl said that Hakuin is the father.
Enraged, the family went to Hakuin and said, "Fuck you, Hakuin, you got my daughter pregnant, you daughter-fucker!"
So Hakuin said, "Is that so?"
The family went home, angry. They spread stories of Hakuin fucking and soon he was no longer famous, but infamous.
Hakuin was told this and ostracised by the other monks. He simply said, "Is that so?"
Devoid of ego or a sense of self. It's not "Is that SO?" or "Is THAT so?". It was simply, "Is that so?"
Nine months later, the family went to Hakuin and gave him the baby.
"Bitch!" said the family, "You're the father. Take care of this bullshit."
So Hakuin said, "Is that so?" And took the baby.
He cared for the thing for several years, before the girl went and told her father that actually, Hakuin is not the father. It was the local gardener boy.
Embarrassed, the family went to Hakuin and said, "Sorry, Broseph. Wrong asshole. We be takin' the child now."
To which Hakuin said, "Is that so?" and gave the child back to the family.
His fame gone, his life ruined, and yet Hakuin knows, more than anyone else, that whatever people say or accuse you of, has no power to change the truth.
You can say that the sun rises in the west and sets in the east, but that will not change anything. You can beat your own chest at the unfairness of the world, or how things should have been, and not what is, and things are still as they are.
No one can change even one silly, simple truth, and if you simply align yourself with the truth, in the present moment, no one has any power over you.
Be aware, and awaken. And shoot laser beams out your eyes.
