Wisdom of the world - Week 165

Mustard Seeds
A grieving mother approached Buddha, carrying the body of her dead child in her arms. She begged him, "I know you can bring him back to life." Buddha replied, "Death is inevitable; I cannot restore his life." The woman was devastated, and was not prepared to accept this answer. Seeing her pain, Buddha said, "I can bring your child back to life, but only if you bring me mustard seeds from a person who has never had a death in his family."
Hearing these words, a hope was awakened within the grieving mother's heart. Immediately she rushed out to beg. She knocked at the first door and asked for some mustard seeds. The middle-aged lady answering the door was very kind and asked her to wait a moment. The woman asked, "There has not been a death in your family, has there?" The lady started crying and said, "Six months ago my husband died in his sleep." The mother was disappointed and she moved on.
The second person she approached was a young man, who said that his grandfather had passed away only a few days earlier. The third was an old woman whose grown up son and daughter-in-law had been killed in an accident. One after the other, the woman found that someone or the other had died in every family.
By the time the woman returned to Buddha, she was full of compassion for her village and realised the truth that death touches us all.

Wisdom of the world - Week 164

Two Jars
The preacher placed two identical jars on the table next to the pulpit.
"These jars came from the same factory, were made of the same materials, and can hold the same amount. But they are different," he explained.
Then he upset one of the jars and it oozed out honey. He turned over the other jar, and vinegar spilled out.
"When a jar is upset, whatever is in it comes out. Until the jars were upset, they looked alike. The difference was within, and could not be seen. When they were upset, their contents were revealed."

Wisdom of the world - Week 163

Changing Attitude

“Over the course of one year, give a coin to each person who offends or upsets you,” instructed the abbot of a young man who wanted people to follow a spiritual path.
For the next twelve months, a boy gave a coin to each person who offended of upset him, as he was instructed. At the end of the year, he returned to the abbot to find out what the next steps were.
“Go into town and buy food for me,” the abbot responded.
Once the boy left, the abbot changed his clothes, and disguised himself as a beggar and went to the gate. When the boy approached, he began to insult him.
“Good!” said the boy, “for a whole year I had to pay the people who upset or offended me, and now I can be attacked for free, without spending anything!”
Hearing this, the abbot removed his disguise. “He who does not take insults seriously, is on the path to wisdom.”

Wisdom of the world - Week 162

 

Does The Master Not Suffer With Bad Disciples

A disciple asked Firoz:
"The mere presence of a master causes all sorts of curious people to gather round, to discover something beneficial. Can't this be a hindrance and negative? Can't this divert the master from his path, or cause him to suffer because he could not teach that which he wished?"
Firoz, the Sufi master, replied:
"The sight of an avocado tree laden with fruit whets the appetite of all those who pass by. If someone wishes to satisfy his hunger beyond his needs, he will eat more avocados than necessary, and will be sick. However, this causes no indigestion to the man who owns the avocado tree.
It is the same with our Search. The path must be open to all; but it is for God to set the limits of each individual."

Paulo Coelho

Wisdom of the world - Week 161

Does The Master Not Suffer With Bad Disciples

A disciple asked Firoz:
"The mere presence of a master causes all sorts of curious people to gather round, to discover something beneficial. Can't this be a hindrance and negative? Can't this divert the master from his path, or cause him to suffer because he could not teach that which he wished?"
Firoz, the Sufi master, replied:
"The sight of an avocado tree laden with fruit whets the appetite of all those who pass by. If someone wishes to satisfy his hunger beyond his needs, he will eat more avocados than necessary, and will be sick. However, this causes no indigestion to the man who owns the avocado tree.
It is the same with our Search. The path must be open to all; but it is for God to set the limits of each individual."


Paulo Coelho

Wisdom of the world - Week 160

 

Why Are You Crying

A man knocked at his friend’s door to ask him a favour:
“I want you to lend me four thousand dinars because I have a debt to pay. Can you do that for me?”
The friend asked his wife to gather together everything they had of value, but even so it was not enough. They had to go out and borrow money from the neighbours until they managed to get the full amount.
When the man left, the woman noticed that her husband was crying.
“Why are you sad? Now that we’ve got ourselves in debt with our neighbours, are you afraid we won’t be able to repay them?”
“Nothing of the sort! I’m crying because he is someone I like so much, but even so I had no idea he was in need. I only remembered him when he had to knock on my door to ask me for a loan.”
Paulo Coelho