Short Stories

The Root Of Suffering

A student was on his way to the temple when he saw something amusing. He thought to himself to quiz his Zen Master when he arrived at the temple later. Upon arrival, the student and his Master sat down for a session of tea appreciation and conversation. All of the sudden, the student asked, "What is going around in circles?"

"Everything because the rope has yet to be released," the Zen Master replied casually.

Hearing the Zen Master's reply, the student was startled and asked the Zen Master, "How did you know? I am amazed! When I was on my way here, I saw a cow being tied through its nose to a tree by a rope." He continued, "To me, it seems like the cow was trying to escape to the grassland to graze on the grass. However, all it managed to do was to keep going around the tree with no chance of freeing itself. I never thought that you would have seen it too. Hence, I did not expect that Master would be able to answer the question so easily.”

08.19.2016

The old Zen Master smiled and said, “The question you asked is about a worldly affair, but my answer is based on reasoning. You asked about a cow that was tied with no way to free itself. My answer is about our assumed inabilities to untangle ourselves from attachment and entanglement. You see, this one reasoning could be adapted to basically anything that happens in our life.”

The student reached a realization. A kite, no matter how high it flies, would not be able to reach thousands of miles of altitude because it is being held by a string.

A sturdy horse, no matter how strong it is, would be led by its master once the saddle is put on and the horse whipped.

What then is holding you back in your daily life?
...
• A document could occupy our mind every moment.
• A title could cause us to toss and turn restlessly at night.
• Win and loss could exhaust all of our mental and physical efforts.
• Success and failure could lead to bitterness.
• Love could lead us to sorrow and anguish.
• For money, we go round and round all corners of the world.
• For power, we move up and down the ladder.
• For desire, we go back and forth hastily.
• For fame, we scurry ahead all day and all night.

Where then is happiness? Where is peacefulness then?
...
Due to a string attached to it, a kite loses its broad sky. Due to a rope tied to it, a cow loses its grassland. Due to a rope controlling it, a fine horse loses its freedom to gallop freely at its own speed.

Earthly temptations are akin to that rope. Human beings are just like the cow being tied down with a rope, entangled in a web of worries and desires that leads to no room for escape.

You Can Be Still And Still Moving

A senior monk and a novice monk took turns to carry water to the temple. As there was a distance between the well and the temple, the senior monk needed to make 10 trips, whereas the novice monk took only 6 trips, to fill the urn with water.

09.05.2016

The senior monk was puzzled. He asked the novice monk, “I am stronger than you are and I certainly walk faster than you. Furthermore, our buckets are filled to the brim at every trip. Why then are you able to fill the urn with less number of trips?”

The novice monk replied, "This is because you are stronger and walked with greater speed and movements, hence causing more spillage. I am weaker and walked slowly but more steadily, hence only a little spillage occurred. As such, I reach the temple with a bucket almost full of water each time.”

Slow and steady yield better results. Hastiness yields more waste. Don’t be rash in whatever we do as the key to yielding better results is stability.

Bodhi - Meditation & Health Magazine

The Jade Craftsman

A jade craftsman sought advice from a Zen Master over his troubles. He had been commissioned by his customer to carve a piece of jade. As he was skillful and precise in his measurements, he had a leftover of a small piece of jade, which he proceeded to carve it too.

08.31.2016

Now that he had two pieces of carved jade, he was in a dilemma because he was unsure whether he should present both pieces to his customer. After listening to him, the Zen Master said with a smile, "In fact, your action has already revealed to you the answer."

The craftsman pondered and asked, "Why is it so?"

The Zen Master replied, "You have optimized the use of the stone when you cut it. This reflects your charitable thought and heart, and your love and affection for all things. As such, you would not lose anything if you do not present this customer with the smaller piece of jade. Neither would you lose anything if you present him with it. In fact, losing a treasure would bring you other gains.”

This awakened the craftsman and he quickly left the mountain to look for his customer. Eventually, the big and small pieces of jade were delivered to the customer. The craftsman soon became a reputable craftsman as his thoughtful action traveled far and wide by word of mouth.

Many jade traders looked him up for collaborations. The craftsman was indeed thankful that he had chosen to “present”.

Bodhi - Meditation & Health Magazine

"Welcome!!"

One rainy afternoon, an old lady walked into a department store. She was wandering aimlessly in the mall and obviously had no intention of buying anything. A young female assistant saw the old lady and immediately took the initiative to meet and greet her politely, "Is there anything we can help you with?"

08.14.2016

The old lady said to her, "I just came in to take shelter. I did not intend to buy anything."

The young female assistant smiled and said to her: "Even if you do not want to buy anything, we also welcome you."

Instead of rushing to go back and organize the merchandise on the shelves, the young female assistant took the initiative to chat with the old lady, to show that she is welcomed even though she is not buying anything. The young female assistant even accompanied the old lady to the mall entrance when she left and opened the umbrella for her. The old lady requested for a name card from the young female assistant and happily left.

One day, the young female assistant was suddenly summoned to the boss’s office. Her boss showed her a letter, which was written by the old lady. It turned out that the old lady was the mother of the famous American steel magnate – Andrew Carnegie. In her letter, the old lady requested the departmental store to send the young female assistant to Houston, as a representative of the company, to discuss on the contract for the provision of decorating materials for a luxurious mansion. The contract is worth a huge amount.

Obviously, the young female clerk got promoted as she treats people sincerely and warmly. The unexpected results were beyond her imagination.

Bodhi - Meditation & Health Magazine

The Senior Professor's New Job

Xiao Yang from Bodhi’s Vancouver Meditation Centre could not resist telling this story, “We all know that there is a reputable Professor from a top university in Vancouver in our meditation center, right?”

Everyone knows this lady who is both highly educated and pleasant. One day, this Dharma sister visited the center after she returned from a holiday overseas. Coincidentally, that day was Volunteer Registration Day. We noticed that she was already filling out her form while listening to the briefing on the newly created volunteer groups and areas for volunteering.

When the briefing was almost over, completed forms were collected. Hers was collected by a fairly new member to the team – a bespectacled student from a top university. This new member glared at her form, rubbed the eyes in disbelief, and stared hard at the Professor. She asked, “You are an expert in English, right?”

The good-natured Professor merely nodded her head. Incredulously, this new member asked again, “And you are applying to clean the toilet bowl?”

08.07.2016

This Professor nodded her head. This new member was disturbed and confused; she exclaimed, “You? Wash the toilet bowl?!”

When the Professor saw this member in that puzzled state, she smiled and said, “Simple. I just returned from a holiday overseas. I saw how clean the toilets were there. I was impressed by the people’s culture and demeanor. Before I returned, I said to myself that whenever I have the time, I would help ensure that the toilets in our center are clean, so that people know that we have the best center."

Everyone who listened to her reason, nodded. This new member was deeply moved and close to tears.

Meditation Master JinBodhi’s 25th Anniversary of the First Dharma Teaching Eve

An Old Lady Withdrawing Money

An old lady handed her bank card to a bank teller and said, “I would like to withdraw $500.”

The female teller told her, “For withdrawals less than $5,000, please use the ATM.”

07.30.2016

The old lady then asked, “Why?”

The teller irritably told her, “These are rules. Please leave if there is no other matter. There is a queue behind you.” She then returned the card to the old lady.

The old lady remained silent. But she returned the card to the teller and said, “Please help me withdraw all the money I have.”

The teller was astonished when she checked the account balance. She nodded her head, leaned down and said to the old lady, “My apologies Granny, you have $3.5 billion in your account and our bank does not have so much cash currently. Could you make an appointment and come again tomorrow?”

The old lady then asked, “How much am I able to withdraw now?”

The teller told her, “Any amount up to $300,000.”

The old lady then told the teller that she wanted to withdraw $300,000 from her account. The teller did so quickly and handed it to the old lady respectfully. The old lady kept $500 in her bag and asked the teller to deposit the balance of $299,500 back into her account. The teller was dumbfounded.

The moral of this story is that rules are inflexible but we can be flexible when the situation requires us to be. We should not treat people based on their looks or how they are dressed. Rather, we should treat everyone with respect, as if they are our own elders.

Master JinBodhi's 25th Anniversary of Dharma Teaching Eve.

The Story Of A Little Boy

One day, 20 years ago, a little boy came in front of a crowded food store. After some hesitation, he gathered his courage to enter. Once inside, he said to the owner’s wife, “I just want to buy one packet of rice, thank you.”

Both husband and wife, owners of the store, were puzzled that the boy didn’t ask for any dish to go with the rice. However, without asking any question, the wife packed extra rice for the little boy. The boy was about to pay when he asked, “Can I have some of the gravy added to my rice?”

The owner smiled and kindly said, “Yes, of course, and you don’t need to pay for it, son!”

After hearing that the gravy would be free, he immediately ordered another packet of white rice. The owner asked, “Isn’t one pack enough for you? I can add more rice to it.”

The boy replied, “Oh no, ma’am! Actually the first packet is for my lunch in school tomorrow.”

The owners thought that the little boy must have come from a poor family, scrimping on food in order to continue studying. He seemed to be living on his own and looked rather lonely. The owner secretly added an egg and a big scoop of meat before covering them with more rice. His wife did not understand why the dishes needed to be hidden. The husband whispered to his wife, “If the little boy knew that we had added extra dishes over the white rice, he would feel that we pity him and this would hurt his pride. He won’t be comfortable coming back again. If he goes to another store and gets to eat only a portion of white rice, where will he get the energy he needed to study?”

When the little boy received the two heavy packets of rice, he looked at the couple who gave him a big smile and said, “See you tomorrow!”

They waved their hands and signaled to the boy to come again tomorrow. The little boy’s eyes were swelled with tears. Since then, he went to the store to buy two packets of white rice almost every day. The owners continue to hide the dishes inside the white rice. This went on until the boy grew up and graduated from the university.

20 years later…

The husband and wife received a letter from the local government notifying them that their store would be demolished as it was sitting on the government land. The matter worried the couple greatly as losing their main source of income in their old age was unthinkable.

One day, a young man dressed in a suit came to their store. He said, “How are you? I am the Deputy Director of the company XX. Our Director would like to ask you to manage our cafeteria in our office building. The entire cost of the equipment and materials will be borne by our company.  You will direct the chefs on the cooking and get to keep part of the profits.”

The couple hesitantly asked, “Who is your Director? Why is he being so kind to us?”

The young man replied, “You are his savior and he loves to eat the meat dish and egg you cooked. I can only tell you so much; the rest you would have to ask him yourself.”

Evidently, the Director was the little boy who came every day to buy two packets of white rice 20 years ago. Although he had become the owner of his own business and succeeded in establishing his own company, he had never forgotten the couple and wanted to repay their kindness.

Moral of the Story:

The little boy is grateful to the couple who has helped him because he knew how easily they might have denied him that help, and how difficult his life might have been if that’s what they had chosen to do.

The couple, on the other hand, has been kind, compassionate and empathetic. They had helped the little boy unconditionally.

True kindness is the act of giving without the expectation of receiving something in return. Yet, kindness is like a boomerang too – it always returns to the giver. Kindness and gratitude are virtues one should cultivate.

Story source:  8 Trending News

Bodhi - Meditation & Health Magazine

The Three Awakening Notes

Once, there was a terminally ill rich man. Saddened that he would die soon, he went looking for a doctor. he found one living in seclusion and consulted him. after diagnosing his pulse, the doctor said, "To this sickness of tours, there is no cure but one. I've got three notes for you - each describes some actions you must act upon accordingly for before you open the next one."

Upon reaching home, he opened the first note which read, "Please go to a beach, lie down for 30 minutes each time for 21 days."

Although suspicious, the millionaire followed the instruction. Unknowingly, he found himself waking up about two hours later at each visit. As he was always very busy, he had never felt so relaxed and serene. The sense of peace was beyond words; listening to the waves, the chirping of the seagulls, feeling the breeze..

a On the 22nd day, he opened the second note that read, "Please find five fishes or shrimps or seashells on the beach each day and put them back into the sea for 21 days."

The millionaire, though still full of doubt, did as instructed. With each fish and little sea creature he put back into the water, he inexplicably sensed compassion arising within him.

Came the 43rd day, the millionaire opened the third note which read, "Please find a branch and feel free to write down on the beach all the thing which caused you dissatisfaction and resentment."

Each time, as soon as the millionaire finished writing his bitterness on the sand, those waves at high tide would wash the words away in no time. He started to cry out loud amidst this sudden epiphany. He returned home and had never felt his entire body so relaxed and comfortable; his mind was calmed to the extent of not even afraid of his impending death.

Moral of the Story: Greed is a poison that leads to self-affliction.

When one has a stable life, one will tend to pursue comfort. Upon achieving a cozy life, one tends to pursue the quest for luxury living. As long as there is endless yearning, unhappiness will dawn upon one. The philosophy of life goes beyond worldly wealth. Learn these three things:

1. Remember to take rest
2. Always give unconditionally
3. Learn to let go

One who treasures everything he has, including the non-material, is the world's richest person.

Bodhi - Meditation & Health Magazine