Writings: Old Zen story…and, seriously, why are you still carrying her?

You’ve heard this one before, hey – 

A senior monk and a junior monk were traveling together.

At one point, they came to a river with a strong current. As the monks were preparing to cross the river, they saw a very young and beautiful woman also attempting to cross. The young woman asked if they could help her.

The senior monk carried this woman in his arms, forded the river and let her down on the other bank. The junior monk was very upset, but said nothing.

They both were walking and senior monk noticed that his junior was suddenly silent, and enquired ,“Is something the matter, you seem very upset?”

The younger monk replied, “As monks, we are not permitted a woman, how could you then carry that woman?”

The older monk replied, “I left the woman a long time ago at the bank. However, you seem to be carrying her still.”