Tanzan and Ekido were once traveling together down a muddy road. A heavy rain was still falling.
Coming around a bend, they met a lovely girl in a silk kimono and sash, unable to cross the intersection.
“Come on, girl,” said Tanzan at once. Lifting her in his arms, he carried her over the mud.
Ekido did not speak again until that night when they reached a lodging temple. Then he no longer could restrain himself. “We monks don’t go near females,” he told Tanzan, especially not young and lovely ones. It is dangerous. Why did you do that?”
“I left the girl there,” said Tanzan. “Are you still carrying her?”
From ‘Zen Flesh, Zen Bones’ compiled by Paul Reps and Nyogen Senzaki.
Wulfruna Sufi Association 
That was Zen, this is Tao.
http://www.loving-awareness.org – A Journey to Wholeness
Nice little story. But there is one problem: The girl in the picture is wearing a Chinese Qipao, NOT a Japanese Kimono as described in the story. This overlook is seriously offensive.
Sorry, I know… If you have a picture of a girl in a kimono, I’ll gladly change it. No offense was intended, I simply couldn’t find a picture of a girl in a kimono. Try to look beyond the qipao…
Hi! I was surfing and found your blog post… nice! I love your blog. 🙂 Cheers! Sandra. R.