A eleven years old girl went to her mother to complain. “I can’t manage to have friends. They all stay away from me because I’m so jealous.”
Her mother was taking care of newly-born chickens, and the girl held up one of them, which immediately tried to escape. The more the girl squeezed it in her hands, the more the chicken struggled.
Her mother said: “try holding it gently.”
She obeyed her. She opened her hands and the chicken stopped struggling. She began to stroke it and the chicken cuddled up between her fingers.
“Human beings are like that too,” said her mother. “If you want to hold onto them by any means, they escape. But if you are kind to them, they will remain for ever by your side.”
The pupils of the Tendai school used to study meditation before Zen entered Japan. Four of them who were intimate friends promised one another to observe seven days of silence.
On the first day all were silent. Their meditation had begun auspiciously, but when night came and the oil lamps were growing dim one of the pupils could not help exclaiming to a servant: “Fix those lamps.”
The second pupils was surprised to hear the first one talk. “We are not supposed to say a word,” he remarked. “You two are stupid. Why did you talk?” asked the third.
“I am the only one who has not talked,” concluded the fourth pupil.
Morale
Never be too quick to judge others. Chances are, you’re not the perfect traveler yourself.
A man who has gone out of his town comes back and finds that his house is on fire.
It was one of the most beautiful houses in the town, and the man loved the house the most. Many were ready to give double price for the house, but he had never agreed for any price and now it is just burning before his eyes.
And thousands of people have gathered, but nothing can be done, the fire has spread so far that even if you try to put it out, nothing will be saved. So he becomes very sad.
His son comes running and whispers something in his ear:
“Don’t be worried. I sold it yesterday and at a very good price ― three times.
The offer was so good I could not wait for you. Forgive me.”
Father said, “thank God, it’s not ours now!” Then the father is relaxed and became a silent watcher, just like 1000s of other watchers.
Please think about it!
Just a moment before he was not a watcher, he was attached.
It is the same house….the same fire…. everything is the same…but now he is not concerned. In fact started enjoying it just as everybody else in the crowd.
Then the second son comes running, and he says to the father, “What are you doing? You are smiling ― and the house is on fire?” The father said, “Don’t you know, your brother has sold it.”
He said, “We have taken only advance amount, not settled fully. I doubt now that the man is going to purchase it now.”
Again, everything changes!!
Tears which had disappeared, have come back to the father’s eyes, his smile is no more there, his heart is beating fast. The ‘watcher’ is gone. He is again attached.
And then the third son comes, and he says, “That man is a man of his word. I have just come from him. He said, ‘It doesn’t matter whether the house is burnt or not, it is mine. And I am going to pay the price that I have settled for. Neither you knew, nor I knew that the house would catch on fire.'”
Again the joy is back and family became ‘watchers’! The attachment is no more there.
Actually nothing is changing!
Just the feeling that “I am the owner! I am not the owner of the house!” makes the whole difference.
The Moral
This simple methodology of watching the mind, That you have nothing to do with it.
Everything starts with a Thought!
Most of the thoughts are not yours but from your parents, your teachers, your friends, the books, the movies, the television, the newspapers.
Just count how many thoughts are your own, and you will be surprised that not a single thought is your own. All are from other sources, all are borrowed ― either dumped by others on you, or foolishly dumped by yourself upon yourself, but nothing is yours.
Once Gautam Buddha was traveling from a village. Everyone was happy to see him and heard his speeches with lots of dedication. However, one young man was not at all happy to see him in the village. He believed Buddha to be a fake master fooling the masses.
“Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.”
While Buddha was delivering his speech, the man stood and started shouting in a very rude manner. Buddha did not pay any attention to him and continued speaking without bothering about him. This made the young man angrier.
He came in front of Buddha and facing him, he began insulting, “You have no right to teach anything to others. You are as stupid as everyone else. Stop fooling everyone. You are fake.!!”
The followers of Buddha tried to overpower that man. But Buddha stopped them and said, “It is not always necessary to counter aggression by aggression.”
Then he turned to the young man with a smile and asked, “Tell me, if you buy a gift for someone, and that person does not take it, to whom does the gift belong?”
The young man was surprised to be asked such a strange question and answered, “It would belong to me, because I bought the gift.”
The Buddha smiled and said, “That is correct. And it is exactly the same as your anger.
If you become angry with me and I do not feel insulted, then the anger falls back on you. You are then the only one who becomes unhappy, not me. All you have done is hurt yourself.”
The man understood the message and he felt embarrassed.
bArfaNi bAbA 