"One day Chuang Tzu and a friend were walking by a river. "Look at the fish swimming about," said Chuang Tzu, "They are really enjoying themselves."
"You are not a fish," replied the friend, "So you can't truly know that they are enjoying themselves."
"You are not me," said Chuang Tzu. "So how do you know that I do not know that the fish are enjoying themselves?" "
(Zen Stories - http://www-usr.rider.edu/~suler/zenstory/fish.html)
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In this story, the friend does not think Chuang Tzu knows how the fish feel b/c Chuang Tzu is not the fish. But then according to Chuang Tzu, the friend is not him, so the friend does not know what he knows.
The moral of this story is not to form any opinion on anything b/c we are not that person. I have used this story once to ask everyone to back up and let me make my own decision b/c I should know myself the best. Since then, the story constantly reminds me on how to treat others. I cannot use my influential power to make people do what I want them to do. It may not be the best for someone. Or it may not be something to make someone happy. If I truly love or care about someone, I should let them do whatever makes them happy. I have to remember this when my child arrives and grows up. I may be wiser; I may have more experiences; But I'm still not my child. I should let her decide what makes her happy. I should always support and guide her but should not dictate on what she should do.
Showing posts with label Buddhism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Buddhism. Show all posts
Monday, August 24, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
"Maybe"
"Once upon a time a peasant had a horse. This horse ran away,so the peasant's neighbours came to console him for his bad luck. He answered: "Maybe".
The day after the horse came back, leading 6 wild horses with it. The neighbours came to congratulate him on such good luck. The peasant said: "Maybe".
The day after, his son tried to saddle and ride on one of the wild horses, but he fell down and broke his leg. Once again the neighbours came to share that misfortune. The peasant said: "Maybe".
The day after, soldiers came to conscript the youth of the village, but the peasant's son was not chosen because of his broken leg. When the neighbours came to congratulate, the peasant said again :"May be"."
(Huai Nan Tzu)
Quynh's comment:
This is Thuy's belief. Nothing is absolute. Everything, good or bad, is relative. He applies this to almost everything. When seeing a good thing, he's not too excited. B/c it may not be a good thing. When dealing with a bad thing, he's not too sad or frustrated. B/c it may not be a bad thing. This helps to prevent him from jumping into an accusation or judgment toward something or someone.
I like it very much. But I'm not there yet. I'm still very emotional. This is a story that would help me to control my emotion and prevent me from judging someone or something. This definitely is a story that I will tell my kid(s).
The day after the horse came back, leading 6 wild horses with it. The neighbours came to congratulate him on such good luck. The peasant said: "Maybe".
The day after, his son tried to saddle and ride on one of the wild horses, but he fell down and broke his leg. Once again the neighbours came to share that misfortune. The peasant said: "Maybe".
The day after, soldiers came to conscript the youth of the village, but the peasant's son was not chosen because of his broken leg. When the neighbours came to congratulate, the peasant said again :"May be"."
(Huai Nan Tzu)
Quynh's comment:
This is Thuy's belief. Nothing is absolute. Everything, good or bad, is relative. He applies this to almost everything. When seeing a good thing, he's not too excited. B/c it may not be a good thing. When dealing with a bad thing, he's not too sad or frustrated. B/c it may not be a bad thing. This helps to prevent him from jumping into an accusation or judgment toward something or someone.
I like it very much. But I'm not there yet. I'm still very emotional. This is a story that would help me to control my emotion and prevent me from judging someone or something. This definitely is a story that I will tell my kid(s).
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
THE LOST SON - Tibetan teaching story
http://www.viewonbuddhism.org/resources/buddhist_stories.html
"A young widower, who loved his five year old son very much, was away on business when bandits came who burned down the whole village and took his son away. When the man returned, he saw the ruins and panicked. The took the burnt corpse of an infant to be his son and cried uncontrollably. He organised a cremation ceremony, collected the ashes and put them in a beautiful little bag which he always kept with him.
Soon afterwards, his real son escaped from the bandits and found his way home. He arrived at his father's new cottage at midnight and knocked at the door. The father, still grieving asked: "Who is it?" The child answered, it is me papa, open the door!" But in his agitated state of mind, convinced his son was dead, the father thought that some young boy was making fun of him. He shouted: "Go away" and continued to cry. After some time, the child left.
Father and son never saw each other again."
After this story, the Buddha said: "Sometime, somewhere, you take something to be the truth. If you cling to it so much, even when the truth comes in person and knocks on your door, you will not open it."
Quynh's comment:
This is how most people behave. I was one of them. I once held on my thoughts and did not open my mind to accept other possibilities. The thought could be the accusation or judgment toward someone or something. If anyone who truly understands this story, he/she should be able to accept other possibility for anything in life.
"A young widower, who loved his five year old son very much, was away on business when bandits came who burned down the whole village and took his son away. When the man returned, he saw the ruins and panicked. The took the burnt corpse of an infant to be his son and cried uncontrollably. He organised a cremation ceremony, collected the ashes and put them in a beautiful little bag which he always kept with him.
Soon afterwards, his real son escaped from the bandits and found his way home. He arrived at his father's new cottage at midnight and knocked at the door. The father, still grieving asked: "Who is it?" The child answered, it is me papa, open the door!" But in his agitated state of mind, convinced his son was dead, the father thought that some young boy was making fun of him. He shouted: "Go away" and continued to cry. After some time, the child left.
Father and son never saw each other again."
After this story, the Buddha said: "Sometime, somewhere, you take something to be the truth. If you cling to it so much, even when the truth comes in person and knocks on your door, you will not open it."
Quynh's comment:
This is how most people behave. I was one of them. I once held on my thoughts and did not open my mind to accept other possibilities. The thought could be the accusation or judgment toward someone or something. If anyone who truly understands this story, he/she should be able to accept other possibility for anything in life.
Collecting stories
I plan to teach my kids Buddhism. Therefore, I am starting to collect Buddhism stories here. If anyone has any good story, please share with me.
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