THE MEDITATION HALL AND THE MONKSLIFE
vtfilloftengooutmilesaway;theymayoftenbeseenalonga
countryroadpullingacartloadedwithpumpkinsorpotatoesor
daikons.They sometimesgo tothewoodstogatherfueland
kindling.Theyknowsomethingofagriculture,too.Astheyhave
tosupp>ortthemselvestheyareatoncefarmers,skilledworkmen,
and unskilledlabourers;theyoftenbuUdtheirownZendoand
otherbuildingsunderthedirectionofanexpert.Theirlabouris
not at all perfunctory; they workjust as hard as ordinary
labourers,perhapsharder,becausetoworksoistheirreligion.
Themonksareaself-governingbody;theyhavetheirown
cooks, proctors, managers,sextons, masters ofceremony, etc.
ThoughthemasterorteacherofaZendoisitssoul,heisnot
directlyconcernedwithitsgovernment,whichislefttothesenior
membersofthecommunity,whosecharacterhasbeentested
throughmanyyearsofdiscipline.WhentheprinciplesofZenare
discussed,onemaywellmarvelattheirdeepandsubtle"meta-
physics"andimaginewhataserious,paJe-faced,head-drooping,
andworld-forgettinggroupofpeoplethesemonksmustbe;but
intheiractual lifetheyareverycommonmortalsengagedin
menialwork.Theyarecheerful,crackjokes,arereadytohelp
oneanother,anddespisenoworkwhichisusuallyconsideredlow
andunworthyofaculturedperson.ThespiritofHyakujoisever
manifesthere.Thefacultiesofthemonksthusreceiveanall-
rounddevelopment.Theyreceivenoformalorliteraryeducation,
whichisgainedmostlyfrombooksandabstractinstructions;but
whattheydogainispracticalandefficient,forthebasicprinciple
oftheZendoHfeis"learningbydoing".Theydisdainsoftedu-
cationandlookuponitasapredigestedfoodmeantforcon-
valescents.Whenalionessgivesbirthtohercubsitisproverbially
believedthatafterthreedaysshepushesthemoveraprecipice
toseeiftheycanclimbbacktoher.Thosethatfailtomeetthis
testare nolongercared about. Whetherthis is trueor not,
somethinglikeitisaimedatbytheZenmaster,whowilloften
treathismonkswitheverymannerofseemingunkindness.The
monksoftenhavenot enoughclothesforcomfort, notenough
foodtosatisfyhunger,notenoughtimetosleep,and,tocapthese,
theyhaveplentyofwork,bothmenialandspiritual.Theseouter
necessities and inneraspirations, working together upon the