What Time is it Now?

 

In the early days of the construction of Ling Chuan Monastery, the Master often led his disciples in working meditation by laboring at the construction site until past midnight. One night, a monk inquired of the Master, “Shifu, it is already late; isn’t it time to take a break?” The Master asked, “What time is it now?” “It is one hour before midnight,” the monk replied. The Master turned to him and said, “Oh! It is now daytime in America.”

The monk paused for a while and then continued to work with the Master until one o’clock in the morning. When they finished, he was not sleepy at all. Suddenly, he realized the truth of the Master’s words, “To sleep is to be in delusion.”