Wisdom of the Far East

Some stories I learned during my travels in Tibet and China many years ago.

In China, there is a parable; Revenge is a dish best served cold.
Do not go out to seek revenge on your enemy with out paying a dreadful cost. If you do, dig two graves, one for him, one for your soul. Revenge kills your soul, hate poisons the soul. Revenge is never a straight line. It is a dark forest and like a forest it is easy to get lost inside of it. You get so deep and lost in your forest of hate there is no light or exit out. Soon you forget why you are there and hate seems now normal to you. Buddha teaches only love cures hate.

The old grandfather became feeble and weak with age. He soon became a burden on the busy family to take care of him. His son decided that the only course of action was to carry the old man on top of the mountain and leave him to die. He asked his son to load him on the litter and help carry him up top. Once arriving there and unloading him on a blanket they said their goodbyes and turned to go home. After a few steps the grandson said, father I must go back and retrieve the litter. Why the father asked. The young son said, father, it will be just a few short years before I have to carry you up here and leave you to die in the cold also and I will need it then. The Father realizing the wisdom of the youngster broke down in tears and carried his father in his arms back down the mountain and cared for him faithfully until he passed in his sleep peacefully surrounded by his loving family a year later.
Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you.

Another Chinese Parable:
A water bearer in China 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
bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water to his house. Of
course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect for which
it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection,
and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been
made to do.

After 2 years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the
water bearer one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, and because
this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your
house." The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers
only on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side? That's
because I have always known about your flaw, and I planted flower seeds on
your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you've watered
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".

Moral: Each of us has our own unique flaws. We're all cracked pots. But
it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very
interesting and rewarding. You just have to take each person for what they
are, and look for the good in them.

Fruits of Pain, or Fruits of Joy... it all depends on what you plant!
An emperor in the Far East was growing old and knew it was time to choose His successor. Instead of choosing one of his assistants or his children, he decided something different. He called young people in the kingdom together one day.
He said, "It is time for me to step down and choose the next emperor. I have decided to choose one of you." The kids were shocked! But the emperor continued, "I am going to give each one of you a seed today, one very special seed. I want you to plant the see, water it and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from this one seed. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next emperor!"
One boy named Ling was there that day, and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly told his mother the story. She helped him get a pot and planting soil, and he planted the seed and watered it carefully. Every day he would water it and watch to see if it had grown.
After about three weeks, some of the other youths began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow. Ling kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by. Still nothing.
By now, others were talking about their plants, but Ling didn't have a plant, and he felt like a failure. Six months went by; still nothing in Ling's pot.
He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Ling didn't say anything to his friends, however. He just kept waiting for his seed to grow.
A year finally went by and all the youths of the kingdom brought their plants to the emperor for inspection. Ling told his mother that he wasn't going to take an empty pot, but his Mother said he must be honest about what happened.
Ling felt sick to his stomach, but he knew his Mother was right. He took his empty pot to the palace.
When Ling arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other youths. They were beautiful - in shapes and sizes. Ling put his empty pot on the floor and many of the other kids laughed at him. A few felt sorry for him and said, "Hey nice try."
When the emperor arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted the young people. Ling just tried to hide in the back of the room. "My, what great plants, trees and flowers you have grown," said the emperor. "Today, one of you will be appointed the next emperor!"
All of a sudden, the emperor spotted Ling at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered his guards to bring him to the front. Ling was terrified. "The emperor knows I'm a failure! Maybe he will have me killed!"
When Ling got to the front, the Emperor asked his name, "My name is Ling," he replied. All the kids were laughing and making fun of him. The emperor asked everyone to quiet down. He looked at Ling, and then announced to the crowd, "Behold your new emperor! His name is Ling!"
Ling couldn't believe it. Ling couldn't even grow his seed. How could he be the new emperor?
The the Emperor said, "One year ago today, I gave everyone a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds, which would not grow. All of you, except Ling, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When the rest of you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Ling was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new emperor!"
• If you plant honesty, you shall reap trust.
• If you plant goodness, you shall reap friends.
• If you plant humility, you shall reap greatness.
• If you plant perseverance, you shall reap victory.
• If you plant consideration, you shall reap harmony.
• If you plant hard work, you shall reap success.
• If you plant forgiveness, you shall reap reconciliation.
• If you plant openness, you shall reap intimacy.
• If you plant patience, you shall reap improvements.
• If you plant faith, you shall reap miracles.
But...
• If you plant dishonesty, you shall reap distrust.
• If you plant selfishness, you shall reap loneliness.
• If you plant pride, you shall reap destruction.
• If you plant envy, you shall reap trouble.
• If you plant laziness, you shall reap stagnation.
• If you plant bitterness, you shall reap isolation.
• If you plant greed, you shall reap loss.
• If you plant gossip, you shall reap enemies.
• If you plant worries, you shall reap wrinkles.
• If you plant sin, you shall reap guilt.
So be careful what you plant now. It shall determine what you will reap tomorrow. The seeds you now scatter will make life worse or better - your life or the ones who will come after. Yes, someday, you will enjoy the fruits, or you will pay for the choices you plant today.

Wow, you've been out there?

I'm reading a book at the moment which consists of a philosophical discussion between a French political author/journalist and his son, a practicing Buddhist, who spent several years studying/practicing in Tibet. It compares their philosophies and outlooks, and seeks a deeper understanding of each.

It's amazing reading. Since Buddhism takes a very different view of life, starting with a completely different view of the nature of self, the short pieces I'd read about it would never really get over its main ideas adequately. But a couple of hundred ages in, I'm begining to feel it out. It's incredible to be shown an approach to life that seems similar in some ways, but massively different in many others.

The thing that really struck me though, is how the son relates stories used as analogies for Buddhist principles.

The last one was an example of how, according to Buddhism, while man's core nature is perfection, man falsely perceives a divergence of good and evil.

To paraphrase:
'It's like looking at the moon. If one presses on one's eye while looking at the moon, it appears that there are two moons. If a man always pressed on his eye while looking at the sky, he could become convinced that there really were two moons. This wouldn't alter the reality that there was only one moon, but to him his perception would become truth.'

I think that could be the best analogy I've ever read.

Would you tell me a little more about your travels over there?

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