Beaven's use of Zen History

I found something interesting about Beaven while reading the novel, that doesn't really have to do with his attempt to keep the world clean and that was his interest in Zen studies. One quote I took from the novel that i'd like to share in margins was about a Zen master who lead a monastery of monks. The monastery was divided up into an east residence and a west residence and one day a stray cat wonders into the monastery. Sometimes the cat would cuddle up in the laps of the monks in the east residence, and other times it would repeat it's actions with those of the west residence. When it continued to do so, the monks became envious of each other until one day fighting broke out in the "dharma" room where the monks usually meditated. The head Zen master Nam Cheon was tired of the bickering and stormed into the room where he picked up the cat and held a blade to it's throat. He asked for the monks to "give one true word of love for the cat," and he would save it, if not he would slit it's throat. Nam Cheon wanted to test the monks to see if they really loved the cat, or they were fighting to see who would win the argument. While the monks couldn't think of anything to say, and returned to firing words back and for at each other trying to prove each other wrong, Nam Cheon slit the cat's throat. The brutality of this story, or "koan," is not to show that monks are violent. It was to show that sometimes people do thinks just to prove their superiority not because they love something. Beaven make's this connection to our political system when it comes to them saving our planet, they act like the monks in the dharma room, and I agree with him. I think that people need to stop arguing about what they think is right, or what they think will make them more prestigious, and just agree with what can make this world, and our planet better for us.