At an old temple, in cold weather, he spent the night.
He could not stand the piercing cold of the whirling wind.
If it has no sarira, what is there so special about it?
So he took the wooden Buddha from the hall and burned it.
This is the story of Tan-Hsia, a ninth century Zen Master who was of Thomas Merton’s favorites. This story along many of the Zen stories cause me to smile and to think of what this wisdom means to me. What idols in my life need burning? Peace.