Tea or Iron
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The Zen master Hakuin used to tell his students about an old
woman who owned a tea shop in the village. She was skilled
in the tea ceremony, Hakuin said, and her understanding of
Zen was superb. Many students wondered about this and went
to the village themselves to check her out. Whenever the old
woman saw them coming, she could tell immediately whether
they had come to experience the tea, or to probe her grasp
of Zen. Those wanting tea she served graciously. For the
others wanting to learn about her Zen knowledge, she hid
until they approached her door and then attacked them with a
fire poker. Only one out of ten managed to escape her
beating.