The Master's Cat

There was an old master at a mountain monastery came to own a small kitten which he loved dearly.

Unfortunately the kitten would try to climb into the abbot’s lap every morning while he was meditating. To remove the distraction the abbot asked the youngest of the novices to tie the animal to a nearby tree during the morning observances.

This continued for a number of years. As the novice was promoted another took his place and made sure that the cat was tied up each morning.

Eventually the old master died and was buried with great ceremony. The next morning, the youngest novice again tied the cat to the tree. This was his task and he had not even been at the monastery when the master had first found his mediations being disturbed.

As time passed, the task of tying up the cat continued to be assigned to the newest novice until, as happens to all things, the cat itself grew old and died. By this time, no-one remembered why it needed to be tied up, only that it must be done every morning during observances. So, of course, another cat was obtained to ensure that there would always be one tied to the tree.

In such a way are traditions born.