ABSTRACT
In the matter of the rituals that the Zen student performs, be he layman or monk, there is a story of an American visiting a Zen Buddhist temple compound. The American was being shown about by the abbot of the temple. The visitor noticed that the abbot was bowing to the various statues of the Bodhisattvas in the different buildings as they entered. This story is true. It is like a koan. An awareness of such stories can help a student with his zazen. There follow some other sayings that perform this function. These other aids are not koans. They come in the form of little talks with the roshi at off moments during the day. In these talks the student may be presented with a piece of imagery, which helps him to concentrate in zazen by showing him in a concrete and practical way what he is striving for, which is also concrete and practical.
