Arthur C. Rauscher · Short Fiction · Historical Fiction
The
Weight
A Zen Short Story — Autumn, 1820, the mountains of northern Japan. A young monk learns that blind devotion to rules is not the same as wisdom.
Arthur C. Rauscher · Short Fiction · Historical Fiction
A Zen Short Story — Autumn, 1820, the mountains of northern Japan. A young monk learns that blind devotion to rules is not the same as wisdom.
About the Story
In the autumn of 1820, in the mountains of northern Japan, a young monk at a small Sōtō Zen temple is chosen to accompany an older monk on a journey to the coast. Jikai is rigid, judgmental, and quietly certain of his own correctness, so when the aging Sōgen requests him over more agreeable companions, Jikai is puzzled but accepts it as an honour.
The road north takes ten days on foot, through barrier checkpoints, flooded crossings, and washed-out mountain passes, with nights in cheap inns and farmhouses. Sōgen teaches as they travel, in the unhurried, sideways manner of Zen instruction. By the end, Jikai learns that blind devotion to rules is not the same as wisdom.
The Weight is a quiet story about grief, patience, and the burdens we choose to carry. For readers new to Zen Buddhism, it offers an accessible introduction, with its koans, teachings, and practices woven naturally into the narrative. Two threads of old Japan run through the story: the Zen Buddhism of a training monk's daily life, and the older ancestor traditions that shaped how people mourned their dead.
"Blind devotion to rules is not the same as wisdom."
The Weight — Arthur C. Rauscher
Where to Read & Listen
Substack — Read or Listen
My primary home for writing. Free to read — sign up or choose "remind me later." No payment required.
Amazon — eBook & Paperback
Available in Kindle eBook and paperback. A small favour: please only leave a review if you've actually purchased the book — reviews from family and friends can result in an author being banned from Amazon.
Apple Podcasts — Listen
Short Stories by Arthur C. Rauscher — free audio on Apple Podcasts.
Spotify — Listen
Stream on Spotify — free with a Spotify account.
Perfect For
About the Author
Arthur C. Rauscher is the founder and publisher of Ovid Publishing Group, and the translator and editor of its Schnitzler Collection — new annotated English editions of Dream Story, The Round Dance, Fräulein Else, Lieutenant Gustl, The Road Into The Open, and The Plays Vol. 1 — as well as the first complete English translation of Emilie Knopf's Love's Joy and Sorrow Between Women.
He is the author of The Weight and the serialized historical novel Flowers of the Rhine: A Story of Women's Love, published weekly on Substack. His short story podcast, Short Stories by Arthur C. Rauscher, is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.
Arthur C. Rauscher
