A Sufi story...
A man went to seek and search. He asked the first man outside the town, sitting under a tree ’How
to find a master?’ The man described him, saying ’These are the signs. he will be sitting under suchand-
such-a tree, he will have certain eyes, such-and-such-a vibe’... and all that. The man was very
happy – now he had a criterion – and for thirty years he searched. He came across many masters,
many people, and he became tired, disillusioned and frustrated – so much so that he turned back
home; he said ’It is all nonsense.’
He met that old man – now he was very old – when he was entering the town. Suddenly he was
surprised:’This is the tree that he described, this is the vibe.’ He looked into the eyes of the old man
and the old man started laughing.. This was the laughter and these were the eyes! He said ’But why
didn’t you tell me before? Why did I have to go into such suffering and a nightmare for thirty years?’
The old man said ’I told you, I described everything, but you didn’t even look at the tree! You were
not ready. The tree was here, I was here. When I was describing the eyes, I was looking into your
eyes, but you were not there.
When I was talking about the vibe, you were not ready to feel it; you were dead. These thirty years
have not been a wastage; they have prepared you. Now you can see the tree, you can look into my
eyes and you can feel the vibe. I am your master. You have come home! And don’t be angry with all
those people; they all have helped in their own ways. The good and the bad, the false and the true
– they all help.’
This game of life is really a very paradoxical game.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
An ancient Tibetan proverb says
One hundred seekers start; ninety-nine are lost somewhere on the
way, go astray. Only one – that too, very rarely – reaches the goal of his search.
With this proverb is attached a small story....
Deep in the mountains there is a monastery, far away from Lhasa. The chief monk is getting old and
he wants a master from Lhasa to replace him. He sends a messenger, a young man, to the main
monastery in Lhasa to ask them, ”Our master is getting very old and he wants a man to replace
him.” After long, long difficulties of mountainous paths the young man finally reaches to the main
monastery.
An audience is given to him. And the master says to him, ”I can understand. I will send one hundred
people with you.”
The young man said, ”But I have asked only for one.” And the master said, ”Have you forgotten the
old proverb? A hundred should go; rarely, one reaches.”
The proverb was certainly known to the young man, but he could not trust that a hundred people
could go and only one would reach. But he could not argue either, with the chief of all the
monasteries of Tibet. One hundred monks followed the young man.
They had not gone very far when they were stopped by a few soldiers with naked swords, who said,
”Our small kingdom has lost its master. We need a master urgently. The pay is good, the palace to
live in, and you will be the only religious man in the whole kingdom. And we are simply conveying to
you the orders from the emperor. Refusal can be dangerous – you can see the naked swords.”
Many of those hundred monks started thinking, ”This is a good place – why unnecessarily go deep
into the mountains? It is close to Lhasa, the kingdom is rich, the monastery is rich, all facilities are
available, and you will be the high priest of the kingdom...” So not only one, many wanted to go.
The young man said, ”Have you forgotten?”
They said, ”We have not forgotten. You forget it – all! We are going to stay.”
The soldiers said, ”We need only one, but the monastery is big. If many of you want to come, you
can be part of the monastery and the emperor will be immensely happy.”
Half of the crowd disappeared. The young man could not believe....
Just a few miles further they were again prevented, this time by a crowd. They needed four priests
because the richest man’s daughter was being married, and the reward was going to be great.
”... And it is only a question of a few days, and then you can go on wherever you are going.”
Immediately, more than four were ready, but the crowd said, ”We don’t want more than four.”
The other monks tried to ask them, ”What are you doing? We have been sent for a certain purpose,
because of a certain message.”
They said, ”We are not going astray. It is only a question of a few days. Soon we will finish the
marriage and we will come a little faster and join you. Your journey is long. The path is tedious. And
we cannot miss this opportunity of earning, getting rewards, from the richest man.” Four persons
again disappeared.
In this way it went on, and the young man started feeling that ”Perhaps I am the only one who is
going to make it back!”
As they were passing a river, a very beautiful young woman with tears in her eyes said, ”You are all
compassionate people. My father is a famous hunter – I live with my father, my mother is dead. He
was supposed to come back this morning and it is evening and he is not back. And I am immensely
afraid in this lonely part of the Himalayas. Won’t you be kind enough, at least one, to be with me for
the night? And in the morning you can go as soon as my father comes home.”
Immediately a young man... in fact many were ready, but a young man said, ”I am coming. This is
the essential teaching of Gautama Buddha – compassion!”
And this goes on.... It is a long story, how people went on disappearing. Finally only two monks and
the young man remained. They were passing the last village and soon they would be arriving at the
monastery. It was already shining in the morning sun on the mountains.
In that village there was an atheist who challenged those monks: ”If you have any guts, first accept
my challenge for a debate. I don’t believe in Gautama Buddha and I don’t believe in his teachings,
and I am ready to fight on each and every point.”
The young man said to the remaining two fellows, ”Don’t get involved in this. Our monastery is there,
you can see it – so beautiful in the eternal snows of the Himalayas.”
But one of them said, ”I cannot move an inch. My master Gautama Buddha has been challenged.
I am going to remain here. Either I will convert this man to Buddhism or I will be converted to his
disciple-hood, however long it takes.” So he was left in that village.
Only one monk and the young man reached the monastery. The young man said, ”I have passed
through an immense experience. I had never thought that proverbs are so accurately true.”
The old master said, ”I knew he would send at least one hundred people because I had asked for
one.”
The young man said, ”But you never mentioned it to me.”
The old man said, ”There was no need to mention it. This is how things go on happening in this
world. We are fortunate that at least one has arrived. There is no certainty; there are so many
by-paths, so many allurements, and once you have gone astray it is not easy to come back to the
right path.”
The crowd consists of people who have all gone astray. Once in a while a courageous person comes out of the crowd and starts searching a path of his own. It needs daring, it needs courage, it needs intelligence. It needs trust in yourself, and also a deep understanding that you will be condemned by the crowd.
way, go astray. Only one – that too, very rarely – reaches the goal of his search.
With this proverb is attached a small story....
Deep in the mountains there is a monastery, far away from Lhasa. The chief monk is getting old and
he wants a master from Lhasa to replace him. He sends a messenger, a young man, to the main
monastery in Lhasa to ask them, ”Our master is getting very old and he wants a man to replace
him.” After long, long difficulties of mountainous paths the young man finally reaches to the main
monastery.
An audience is given to him. And the master says to him, ”I can understand. I will send one hundred
people with you.”
The young man said, ”But I have asked only for one.” And the master said, ”Have you forgotten the
old proverb? A hundred should go; rarely, one reaches.”
The proverb was certainly known to the young man, but he could not trust that a hundred people
could go and only one would reach. But he could not argue either, with the chief of all the
monasteries of Tibet. One hundred monks followed the young man.
They had not gone very far when they were stopped by a few soldiers with naked swords, who said,
”Our small kingdom has lost its master. We need a master urgently. The pay is good, the palace to
live in, and you will be the only religious man in the whole kingdom. And we are simply conveying to
you the orders from the emperor. Refusal can be dangerous – you can see the naked swords.”
Many of those hundred monks started thinking, ”This is a good place – why unnecessarily go deep
into the mountains? It is close to Lhasa, the kingdom is rich, the monastery is rich, all facilities are
available, and you will be the high priest of the kingdom...” So not only one, many wanted to go.
The young man said, ”Have you forgotten?”
They said, ”We have not forgotten. You forget it – all! We are going to stay.”
The soldiers said, ”We need only one, but the monastery is big. If many of you want to come, you
can be part of the monastery and the emperor will be immensely happy.”
Half of the crowd disappeared. The young man could not believe....
Just a few miles further they were again prevented, this time by a crowd. They needed four priests
because the richest man’s daughter was being married, and the reward was going to be great.
”... And it is only a question of a few days, and then you can go on wherever you are going.”
Immediately, more than four were ready, but the crowd said, ”We don’t want more than four.”
The other monks tried to ask them, ”What are you doing? We have been sent for a certain purpose,
because of a certain message.”
They said, ”We are not going astray. It is only a question of a few days. Soon we will finish the
marriage and we will come a little faster and join you. Your journey is long. The path is tedious. And
we cannot miss this opportunity of earning, getting rewards, from the richest man.” Four persons
again disappeared.
In this way it went on, and the young man started feeling that ”Perhaps I am the only one who is
going to make it back!”
As they were passing a river, a very beautiful young woman with tears in her eyes said, ”You are all
compassionate people. My father is a famous hunter – I live with my father, my mother is dead. He
was supposed to come back this morning and it is evening and he is not back. And I am immensely
afraid in this lonely part of the Himalayas. Won’t you be kind enough, at least one, to be with me for
the night? And in the morning you can go as soon as my father comes home.”
Immediately a young man... in fact many were ready, but a young man said, ”I am coming. This is
the essential teaching of Gautama Buddha – compassion!”
And this goes on.... It is a long story, how people went on disappearing. Finally only two monks and
the young man remained. They were passing the last village and soon they would be arriving at the
monastery. It was already shining in the morning sun on the mountains.
In that village there was an atheist who challenged those monks: ”If you have any guts, first accept
my challenge for a debate. I don’t believe in Gautama Buddha and I don’t believe in his teachings,
and I am ready to fight on each and every point.”
The young man said to the remaining two fellows, ”Don’t get involved in this. Our monastery is there,
you can see it – so beautiful in the eternal snows of the Himalayas.”
But one of them said, ”I cannot move an inch. My master Gautama Buddha has been challenged.
I am going to remain here. Either I will convert this man to Buddhism or I will be converted to his
disciple-hood, however long it takes.” So he was left in that village.
Only one monk and the young man reached the monastery. The young man said, ”I have passed
through an immense experience. I had never thought that proverbs are so accurately true.”
The old master said, ”I knew he would send at least one hundred people because I had asked for
one.”
The young man said, ”But you never mentioned it to me.”
The old man said, ”There was no need to mention it. This is how things go on happening in this
world. We are fortunate that at least one has arrived. There is no certainty; there are so many
by-paths, so many allurements, and once you have gone astray it is not easy to come back to the
right path.”
The crowd consists of people who have all gone astray. Once in a while a courageous person comes out of the crowd and starts searching a path of his own. It needs daring, it needs courage, it needs intelligence. It needs trust in yourself, and also a deep understanding that you will be condemned by the crowd.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Why God Allows Pain
A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed.
As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation.
They talked about so many things and various subjects.
When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said:
"I don't believe that God exists."
"Why do you say that?" asked the customer. "Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn't exist.
Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people?
Would there be abandoned children?
If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain.
I can't imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things."
The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't want to start an argument.
The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop.
Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard.
He looked dirty and unkempt. The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber:
"You know what? Barbers do not exist."
"How can you say that?" asked the surprised barber.
"I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!"
"No!" the customer exclaimed. "Barbers don't exist because
if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside."
"Ah, but barbers DO exist! That's what happens when people do not come to me."
"Exactly!" affirmed the customer. "That's the point! God, too, DOES exist!
That's what happens when people do not go to Him and don't look to Him for help.
That's why there's so much pain and suffering in the world."
Ego is being "shy" and not wanting to talk to people. Ego is fear of what others might think of you. Ego is self critical and refuses to accept compliments. Ego is a lack of trust for people because your trust has been violated. Ego is living inside of a comfort zone, because you are afraid of failing. Ego is thinking that everything you do is perfect or striving for perfection. Ego is taking the credit when it doesn't belong to you or not liking it when someone else gets credit. Ego is giving up on the persistence God implanted in you. Ego is being closed minded.
Ego is not allowing yourself to learn and grow for fear of the responsibility that comes with that. Ego is not forgiving because you feel justified in your anger. Ego chooses to take offense to what others say or do. Ego is self righteous and critical. Ego is false humility. Ego is oppression and not wanting to move past the past. Ego is having to be in control of everything. Ego is thinking nobody can do it better than you. Ego is an inability to admit you need help. The Ego needs to "keep up with the Jones". Ego needs to appear like everything is perfect when it isn't. Ego is a victim. Ego is pride.
This is only a few examples of Ego. We all comfortably wear our Ego. We just need to make the choice daily to take the invisible shield off and be the true person God intended for us to be. He is in control, he knows our path, he is ready to take on ALL road bumps in our path. If we hand over complete control to God and not try to live it alone, our Ego will safely be left outside the doorway of our life.
In short, Ego is Edging God Out.
Friday, September 25, 2009
This story has always made me immensely happy.
The emperor of China was a very great painter; he loved painting, and he used to call other painters
to the palace every year to have an exhibition. When he had become very old, he declared, at one
annual function, ”Now I am very old and I want to see the most perfect painting in the world. I will
provide space in the palace to the painter, and whatever he needs...”
So a few painters who thought they could create such a painting stayed in the palace. Somebody
completed his painting in one month and brought it to the emperor. He had done well, but it was not
the most perfect.
By and by three years passed, and only one painter remained. For three years he had been painting
– and he was not painting on canvas; he was painting on the wall of the palace where his room was
allotted to him.
He had painted a beautiful forest... and a moonlit night, a small river, and a very small footpath going
round and round around the trees and then disappearing in the forest.
After three years he came to the emperor and said, ”Now you can come. Whatever I can do I have
done. I think it is the most perfect painting in the world. So I invite Your Honor to come, and I don’t
ask any reward – these three years were the most precious that I have lived. Just your seeing it is
enough.”
All the other painters had been painting for reward, and when you are painting out of some
motivation, for some reward, your painting cannot be perfect. Your motivation will be the dust.
This painter said, ”I am not at all interested in any reward; you have already given it to me. These
three years I have lived such a beautiful life, day and night; nothing could be more than you have
given me. Now just look at the painting so that I can go back home. My children, my wife, may be
waiting for me.”
The emperor went with him. Certainly this painter had done the greatest job. He became so
interested that he asked the painter, ”Where does this small path go, finally?”
The painter said, ”I have never gone on it but if you are willing to come with me, we can go and see
where it leads. This question has arisen in me also many times, ‘Where does this small path lead?’”
So the painter and the emperor both entered the path and disappeared behind the trees, and nothing
has been heard about them since.
This story has always made me immensely happy. There is no returning from perfection, there is no
going back. Perfection takes you and you disappear.
to the palace every year to have an exhibition. When he had become very old, he declared, at one
annual function, ”Now I am very old and I want to see the most perfect painting in the world. I will
provide space in the palace to the painter, and whatever he needs...”
So a few painters who thought they could create such a painting stayed in the palace. Somebody
completed his painting in one month and brought it to the emperor. He had done well, but it was not
the most perfect.
By and by three years passed, and only one painter remained. For three years he had been painting
– and he was not painting on canvas; he was painting on the wall of the palace where his room was
allotted to him.
He had painted a beautiful forest... and a moonlit night, a small river, and a very small footpath going
round and round around the trees and then disappearing in the forest.
After three years he came to the emperor and said, ”Now you can come. Whatever I can do I have
done. I think it is the most perfect painting in the world. So I invite Your Honor to come, and I don’t
ask any reward – these three years were the most precious that I have lived. Just your seeing it is
enough.”
All the other painters had been painting for reward, and when you are painting out of some
motivation, for some reward, your painting cannot be perfect. Your motivation will be the dust.
This painter said, ”I am not at all interested in any reward; you have already given it to me. These
three years I have lived such a beautiful life, day and night; nothing could be more than you have
given me. Now just look at the painting so that I can go back home. My children, my wife, may be
waiting for me.”
The emperor went with him. Certainly this painter had done the greatest job. He became so
interested that he asked the painter, ”Where does this small path go, finally?”
The painter said, ”I have never gone on it but if you are willing to come with me, we can go and see
where it leads. This question has arisen in me also many times, ‘Where does this small path lead?’”
So the painter and the emperor both entered the path and disappeared behind the trees, and nothing
has been heard about them since.
This story has always made me immensely happy. There is no returning from perfection, there is no
going back. Perfection takes you and you disappear.
Friday, August 7, 2009
This is a beautiful story....
A king told his court that he wants the whole of wisdom condensed into
one sentence, and the sentence has to be as small as possible so that he can engrave it inside his
diamond ring. And he will look at it only in a situation when there is no way out.
It was a difficult task. But one of his ministers said – ”I will prepare it. Give me the ring. But don’t
look at it until every other possibility is finished and you are facing death – in the ultimate emergency,
because only then will you understand it.” The king was curious, but he had to give his word that he
would not look at it.
Soon the day came when the country was invaded, the king was defeated; he escaped into the
mountains to hide. He reached a point where there was the end of the mountain, and an abysmal
depth facing him. There was no way to go further, and back he could not go. He could hear the
enemy, the horses, approaching.
He waited for a few minutes. When he heard the steps of the horses so close that it was only
a question of a few seconds till he would be caught, he took off the diamond ring, looked – and
laughed in that silent place. The whole valley was full of his laughter, because what was written was
a very simple sentence. In his ring it was engraved: ”This too will pass.”
The whole wisdom he had asked for – and this is the essence of the whole of wisdom: This too will
pass.
And as it happened, the horses must have turned some other way, and he heard their steps going
farther and farther away.
He gathered his army again, won back his country, and there was great celebration all over the
capital because they had become again independent. He was garlanded, his chariot was full of
flowers, and people were throwing flowers in joy, and dancing and singing. At that moment he again
took off his diamond ring and read the sentence: This too will pass. And this moment became his
enlightenment.
Sadness comes, joy comes, and everything passes by.
A king told his court that he wants the whole of wisdom condensed into
one sentence, and the sentence has to be as small as possible so that he can engrave it inside his
diamond ring. And he will look at it only in a situation when there is no way out.
It was a difficult task. But one of his ministers said – ”I will prepare it. Give me the ring. But don’t
look at it until every other possibility is finished and you are facing death – in the ultimate emergency,
because only then will you understand it.” The king was curious, but he had to give his word that he
would not look at it.
Soon the day came when the country was invaded, the king was defeated; he escaped into the
mountains to hide. He reached a point where there was the end of the mountain, and an abysmal
depth facing him. There was no way to go further, and back he could not go. He could hear the
enemy, the horses, approaching.
He waited for a few minutes. When he heard the steps of the horses so close that it was only
a question of a few seconds till he would be caught, he took off the diamond ring, looked – and
laughed in that silent place. The whole valley was full of his laughter, because what was written was
a very simple sentence. In his ring it was engraved: ”This too will pass.”
The whole wisdom he had asked for – and this is the essence of the whole of wisdom: This too will
pass.
And as it happened, the horses must have turned some other way, and he heard their steps going
farther and farther away.
He gathered his army again, won back his country, and there was great celebration all over the
capital because they had become again independent. He was garlanded, his chariot was full of
flowers, and people were throwing flowers in joy, and dancing and singing. At that moment he again
took off his diamond ring and read the sentence: This too will pass. And this moment became his
enlightenment.
Sadness comes, joy comes, and everything passes by.
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