Is that so ?

A beautiful girl in the village was pregnant. Her angry parents demanded to
know who was the father. At first resistant to confess, the anxious and
embarrassed girl finally pointed to Hakuin, the Zen master whom everyone
previously revered for living such a pure life. When the outraged parents
confronted Hakuin with their daughter's accusation, he simply replied "Is
that so?"

When the child was born, the parents brought it to the Hakuin, who now was
viewed as a pariah by the whole village. They demanded that he take care of
the child since it was his responsibility. "Is that so?" Hakuin said calmly as
he accepted the child.

For many months he took very good care of the child until the daughter
could no longer withstand the lie she had told. She confessed that the real
father was a young man in the village whom she had tried to protect. The
parents immediately went to Hakuin to see if he would return the baby. With
profuse apologies they explained what had happened. "Is that so?" Hakuin
said as he handed them the child.