The cracked pot

An elderly Chinese man had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which he carried across his neck.

One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walk from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily, with the man bringing home only one and a half pots of water.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do. After 2 years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the man one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house."

The old man smiled, "Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side?" "That's because I have always known about your flaw, so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them." "For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house."

Each of us has our own unique flaw. But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. You've just got to take each person for what they are and look for the good in them.

Carrying the coconuts

  One day , a poor coconut seller had the good luck of gathering a lot more coconuts than he usually could. He loaded his horse cart heavily and started to the near by village to sell.
   As he was about to start he saw a boy standing near his cart. He asked the boy," Can you tell me how long it would take to reach the village?"
   The boy looked at he cart and said , " If you go slowly, you will reach very soon, but if you go fast , you will reach only by Sun down."
    "What!" exclaimed the coconut seller and smiled. He could not believe the strange logic of the boy. The coconut seller climbed his horse cart and started hurrying towards the village. He whipped the horse again and again to make it trot faster. However , since the cart was heavily loaded ,many of the coconuts fell off. The coconut seller had to stop the cart to pick them up. Then he hurried his horse even more to make up for the lost time, the coconut fell off again and once again , the coconut seller had to stop and collect the fallen coconuts again and again. By the time he reached the village, it was night and he had also lost some of the coconuts on the way.

story and picture courtesy Mind melodies publication
WWW.mindmelodies.com

The monk and the cobra.

       There once lived a venomous snake in a hole under a large tree. The tree stood in  a corner of a field near a village.The cobra attacked people at the slightest provocation and many people died because of the snakes deadly bite. Fear of the cobra kept people from coming near the tree.
       One day a monk was passing through the village and saw this beautiful tree and decided to meditate under its shade before he moved on. Some boys who were driving their cows back home saw the monk and warned him about the cobra .The monk continued to walk towards the tree. The boys fled .
       As the monk sat down to meditate the snake came out from his hole with an angry hiss, ready to strike.
The monk chanted a mantra looking straight in to the cobra's eyes and miraculously the cobra laid down on the ground peacefully.
       After the monk finished his meditation he opened his eyes and found the snake still lying beside him. He spoke to the snake ," Your bite is venomous and it kills people , it is a very wrong thing to do. I will teach you a mantra repeating which will teach you to be more tolerant and loving towards other creatures".
The monk taught the snake a mantra and left the village. The cobra repeated the mantra and became very peaceful. He lived on berries and fruits that were available to it in the nearby fields. Slowly the people in the village forgot their fear for the snake.
      After a few weeks the same boys passed that way and saw the snake , at first they were afraid but seeing the snake so quiet and peaceful starting taunting it by throwing stones.One evening the boys stoned the cobra and made it bleed when one boy took the cobra by it's tail and started swinging it round and round and round and let go of it . The cobra went crashing on a huge rock. The boys clapped and  laughed and left it to die.
       The cobra continued to chant the mantra taught by his teacher which gave him strength to crawl back to his hole. Now the snake went out only in the dark when no one was about and ate a few dry leaves and berries.His wounds were slowly healing.
     After a few months the monk happened to pass by the same village and found the cobra weak and thin. He asked the cobra about the wound on his head. The cobra replied ," Some children playfully swung me around and my head hit a rock, I nearly died .How are they to know I have changed , it is not their mistake". Hearing the cobra the monk was deeply moved. The monk said ," Yes , I told you not to bite , but I did not ask you not to hiss".
     The cobra understood the truth in his teacher's words. He chanted the mantra taught to him but when someone tried to harm him he hissed and that frightened them away.


Picture coutesy- Ramakrisha math book.

Cherokee Wisdom

Cherokee Wisdom!

     An old Cherokee told his grandson, "My son, there is a battle between two wolves inside us all. One is Evil. It is anger, jealousy, greed, resentment, inferiority, lies, & ego. The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, empathy, & truth."

    The boy thought about it, and asked, "Grandfather, which wolf wins?"

The old man quietly replied, "The one you feed".

BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD.

      

    One day an anxious mother, along with her son visited Mahatma Gandhi. She told Bapuji, "My son is suffering from a kidney disease,Bapuji, I am really concerned ,I took him to the doctor and the doctor has advised him to take food without salt." She continued, "the problem Bapuji is my son refuses to follow the doctor's orders ,but if you tell him he will listen as he worships you and he will not deny you.".


     The Mahatma asked the mother and son to see him after a week.


     After a week or so , Mahatma Gandhi called the mother and the son to his house. He took the boy aside and looked him in the eye and said " You are very important for your mother's happiness and your health worries her, It is my wish that you follow doctor's orders and stop taking salt in your diet ".


    The boy who was in awe of the Mahatma was so pleased with the Mahatma worrying about him,agreed at once  . He turned to his mother and said" no more salt for me Ma."


     The relieved mother stood puzzled for a while and asked Gandhiji "But Bapuji, you could have told him this when we came a week ago, why didn't you?"


      To this Gandhiji replied"But madam at that time I was taking salt in my diet and it has taken a week for me to give up salt myself. How can I advice your son to eat a diet without salt with a clear conscience? How can I tell someone to do something which I myself do not practice .


    This is the great man who said" Be the change you want to see in the world".

Slave of my slave.

      Long ago when Alexander the great came to India , he found the people fearless and friendly. He befriended many of them. when he prepared to leave to his homeland he wanted to take a sage from India along with him. 

      He went in quest of a sage into the forest . He found one sitting under a tree deep in meditation. Alexander greeted the sage warmly and kindly requested him to accompany him to Greece. He promised the sage great riches and comfort.

      The sage calmly replied that he has no desire to go with the king and that he has no use for riches and is very comfortable here.

       Alexander flew in to a rage he burst out in anger, "do you know who I am? I am the great king Alexander, no one lives after disobeying me" .So saying he unsheathed his sword. The sage was not perturbed he replied ,"you say you are a king ,but you are just a slave to my slave".

       Alexander was much surprised by this reply,he could not comprehend its meaning, "why did you call me the slave of your slave? I am nobody's slave",he called back .

       The sage answered in a sweet calm voice," Great king , I have mastered  my anger. Anger is my slave,I don't lose my temper as you do, you are still a slave to your anger. Anger is my slave , so, you are a slave to my slave".

       

True to one's nature

     A saint was taking bath in a river.  His eyes fell on a scorpion . It was struggling for its life in the flowing water.


     He picked up the creature in his hands to save it from drowning . As he took the creature in his hands, it stung him on his hand. 


      Overcome by the pain of the sting, the saint let the scorpion fall from his hands in to the water.  As soon as he let the scorpion down, it again started  struggling for survival.


      Unable to see a fellow creature suffer the saint picked the scorpion with his hands once more . It stung him again. He was forced to let go of it because of the pain.The scorpion dropped back into the water.


       This act of the scorpion struggling for life and the saint picking it up went on for three or four times. Every time the scorpion stung the saint he dropped it into the river.


      One of the men on the bank of the river was watching this drama. He called out to the saint and said, "Why don't you give up the futile attempt of saving the life of a cruel creature? It has stung you so many times. Why don't you just let it die?"


      The saint smiled and said , " Every one gives only what one has. The scorpion has stung me again and again though I am trying to save its life. If it cannot give up its nature then how can I give up mine."