There was a fisherman in China who for forty years used a straight needle to fish with. When someone asked him, “Why don't you use a bent hook?” The fisherman replied, “You can catch ordinary fish with a bent hook, but I will catch a great fish with my straight needle.”
Word of this came to the ear of the Emperor, so he went to see this fool of a fisherman for himself. The Emperor asked the fisherman, “What are you fishing for?”
The fisherman said: “I am fishing for you, Emperor!”
—Reported by Sokei-an Sasaki, first Zen master to “bury his bones” in America.