A young student of Zen was going to the market to buy vegetables for the monastery where he was studying. On the way he met a student from another monastery.
“Where are you going?” asked the first student. “Wherever my legs take me,” replied the other. The first student pondered over the answer as he was sure it had some deep significance. When he returned to the monastery, he reported the conversation to his teacher, who said: “You should have asked him what he would do if he had no legs.” The next day the student was thrilled to see the same boy coming towards him. “Where are you going?” he asked and without waiting for a reply continued, “Wherever your legs take you, I suppose. Well, let me ask you . . .” “You’re mistaken,” interrupted the other boy. “Today I’m going wherever the wind blows.” This answer so confused the first boy that he could not think of anything to say. When he reported the matter to his teacher, the old man said: “You should have asked him what he would do if there were no wind.” Some days later the student saw the boy in the market again and rushed to confront him, confident that this time he would have the last word. “Where are you going?” he asked. “Wherever your legs take you or wherever the wind blows? Well, let me ask you . . . . ” “No, no,” interrupted the boy. “Today I’m going to buy vegetables.” |
One night a man came to our house and told me, “There is a family with eight children. They have not eaten for days,” I took some food and I went. When I finally came to the family, I saw the faces of those little children disfigured by hunger. There was no sorrow or sadness in their faces, just the deep pain of hunger. I gave the rice to the mother. She divided it in two, and went out, carrying half the rice with her. When she came back, I asked her, “Where did you go?” She gave me this simple answer, “To my neighbors-they are hungry also.” I was not surprised that she gave–because poor people are generous. But I was surprised that she knew they were hungry. As a rule, when we are suffering, we are so focused on ourselves we have no time for others. ANOTHER STORY TO COMPLETE THIS A well known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill? "Hands started going up. He said, "I ...
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