Interesting/Inspirational Stories, Proverb and Saying

Judging Others

Take oneself to task instead of putting faults on others.
The Gayan of Hazrat Inayat Khan

To God belongeth  the Mystery of the heavens and the earth, and the decision of the hour of judgment, as the twinkling of an eye, or even quicker, for God hath power over all things.
Islam
The Holy Qur'an Sura XVI v 77


Judge not, and ye shall not be judged.  For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
Christianity
Matthew 7:1-2
King James Version

dhammapada
19 - the judge
256-257:
To pass judgment hurriedly
doesn't mean you're a judge.
The wise one, weighing both
the right judgment & wrong,
judges others impartially --
unhurriedly, in line with the Dhamma,
guarding the Dhamma,
guarded by Dhamma,
intelligent:
he's called a judge.

[ Last edited by lyhmsia on 23-12-2004 at 09:09 AM ]

Why Critism is bad

Critis with bad intention is futile  because it puts a person on the defensive, and usually makes him strive to justify himself. It is dangerous, because it damages a person's precious pride, hurts his sens of importance, and arouses his resentment. Let's realise that the person we are going to correct and condemn justify himself, and condemn us in return

There is an ant on my working desk. I think it is the same ant that I saw a few months ago. I am surprised it is still around, and don't think it has managed to walk its way out of the desk. It's a huge desk for a tiny insert like it. I watched it for a few minutes, circling around my desk, climbling up on my computer, papers, cup and etc. What is it searching? Has it lost its way and is trapped in this world (the desk)?

This sort of reminds me of us, we are all 'trapped' in this world, like the ant. Are we not still walking and searching for a way? Or have you found the 'WAY'?

Source: Moonpointer.com

The Talkative Turtle
A Tale from India

A talkative turtle overheard two hunters say that they were planning to catch turtles the very next day. When the hunters left, the turtle asked two cranes to help him escape. "Beautiful white birds," he said, "if you hold a long stick between your beaks, I'll close my mouth tightly in the middle of it, and then you can fly up and carry me to safety."

"Good idea," said the cranes. "But, for the plan to succeed, you will have to keep your mouth closed tightly on the stick and you must not say a word!" The turtle agreed and biting on the middle of a stick held in the beaks of two birds, off he was carried.

When the birds were high in the air with the turtle dangling down from the stick, some people on the ground looked up at the strange sight in the sky and said, "What clever birds! They figured out how to carry a turtle!"

The proud, talkative turtle cried out, "It was my idea!" and fell tumbling down to earth.

The Smuggler
A Tale from the Middle East

A clever smuggler came to the border with a donkey. The donkey's back was heavily laden with straw. The official at the border was suspicious and pulled apart the man's bundles till there was straw all around, but not a valuable thing in the straw was found. "But I'm certain you're smuggling something," the official said, as the man crossed the border.

Now each day for ten years the man came to the border with a donkey. Although the official searched and searched the straw bundles on the donkey's back, he never could find anything valuable hidden in them.

Many years later, after the official had retired, he happened to meet that same smuggler in a marketplace and said, "Please tell me, I beg you. Tell me, what were you smuggling? Tell me, if you can."

"Donkeys," said the man.

WHAT'S THE MORAL OF THE STORY?

There are two things that deeply touches every traveller, every wanderer, of this dreary life... The first, of course, is reaching home. And the second, is the discovery of the way home. Even before reaching home, one feels great relief

Hold a thought in your mind.
See how it distorts and warps.
Let go of the thought.
And realise the luminosity of your mind.

While waiting to cross one of the heaviest traffic roads in town, I noticed most people do not pay much attention to the traffic lights. Instead, they rather risk their lives on the road, straining their necks, ready to challenge the oncoming vehicles, waiting for opportunities to beat the traffic lights, to simply dash across. Are we missing a point here? These lights change with fixed timings, telling us when it is the time to walk, when it is to wait. They were created for our reference, our safety.

Too often, we forget to be mindful of our surroundings

Once there lived an elephant called Mahilamukha in a royal stall. He was gentle, innocuous and extremely obedient to his mahout.

Once, some burglars sat close to the stall and indulged in conversations. They were talking about all sorts of evil deeds by extolling their merits. Thus, they praised all the burglars

Once, a golden gander paired with a female crow, who gave birth to an offspring. They called him Vinilaka (Dingy), as he was neither golden like his father; nor black like his mother.  The gander was also married to a resplendent white goose, who gave birth to two wise, white and comely ganders.
The female crow and her son lived in Mithila. So, the gander often visited her and his son, Vinilaka there. One day, when he returned from Mithila, the two young ganders asked him as to where was he coming from. The father said that he had been to Mithila to visit his other son, who was born of a female crow. As he was his father too, as he was theirs, so he had visited him in Mithila. The two young ones then thought of helping their father. So, they proposed to bring Vinilaka to their abode.

Having obtained the address of Vinilaka and the consent of his father to bring Vinilaka, they flew to Mithila. There, after greeting Vinilaka and introducing themselves, they conveyed their intention to carry him to their father. Vinilaka happily welcomed the invitation. So, the two asked him to perch on a stick, which they could hold by their beaks and fly to their abode.

When Vinilaka was thus being flown, Videha, the king of Mithila was visiting some place on his royal chariot underneath. His chariot had four milky-white horses. Seeing the king being carried by four white horses on the land and he himself being carried by two white ganders in the air he thought that he was greater than the king. So, he shouted, 揑 am the Greatest. I am superior to king Videha, because he is being carried by the white horses on the land; but I have the subjects, who carry me in the air

It was very difficult to grasp the hidden message. IMO, there are 2 possible answers:

(1) The smuggler might have known this one particular official's weakness - his tenacity (zhi zuo). If the smuggler brings only the donkey everyday, he would have been seen through. The straw on the back of the donkey was deliberately designed to divert the official's attention. So, the official only focus on what is hidden inside the straws but not on the donkey which are different everyday.

(2) There really isn't anything wrong. He wasn't smuggling anything. The problem lies only in the official's suspicion. He could not put it down after so many years. Again, he is tenacious - zhi zuo.

Ten Jugs of Wine
A Tale from Japan

Ten old men decided to celebrate the New Year with a big crock of hot sake wine. Since none of them could provide for all, they each agreed to bring one jug of wine for the large heating bowl. On the way to his wine cellar, each old man thought, "My wine is too valuable to share! No one will know. It'll never show. It'll still be fine. I'll bring a jug of water instead of the wine."

And so when they gathered with the jugs they brought, all ten old men poured the contents of their jugs ceremoniously into the big bowl and then looked sheepishly at one another as they heated and poured hot water for all.

Chuang Tzu says: Be natural and you will flower. If this understanding enters you, deeper and deeper and deeper, then all effort becomes meaningless. Then you are not constantly making arrangements for the future, then you live here and now...then this moment is all, then this moment is eternity.

2 Principles to Live By
A traveler through the mountains came upon an elderly gentleman who was busy planting a tiny almond tree. Knowing that almond trees take many years to mature, he commented to the man "It seems odd that a man of your advanced age would plant such a slow-growing tree!". The man replied "I like to live my life based on two principles. One is that I will live forever. The other is that this is my last day."

(paraphrased from either Lao Tsu or Chuang-T'su)

Eating Sugar
A woman once brought her son to visit Mahatma Ghandi, who was always willing to be visited by the people of India. She asked him to please tell her son that he should stop eating sugar. "Come back in three days and I will grant your request," he said.

Three days later, she came back with her son, and Ghandi knelt down beside the boy and, looking him in the eyes, said "You really should stop eating sugar, as your mother wishes." The boy promised he would stop. The woman, curious, asked Ghandi why he did not do this on their first visit, three days earlier. He replied "Three days ago, I had not stopped eating sugar."

I might had posted this before.
Comment: Be that person in order to understand him/her. I reliaze that racism exist because we never try to be that race. If we're able to see things from the other race/religion maybe ignorance and prejudice would have fade away. Huh! :agr: We always prefer to judge things based on our own understanding and perception.

[ Last edited by lyhmsia on 3-2-2005 at 11:19 PM ]

"The purpose of a fishtrap is to catch fish, and when the fish are caught, the trap is forgotten.
The purpose of a rabbit snare is to catch rabbits. When the rabbits are caught, the snare is forgotten.
The purpose of words is to convey ideas. When the ideas are grasped, the words are forgotten.
Where can I find a man who has forgotten words? He is the one I would like to talk to."
-Chuang-Tsu

Precision has it's place in spirituality as it does in math and science.

Rabbi Isadore was a wise teacher. A student asked, "How is one to know the precise time when night ends and day begins?"

One student volunteered, "It is when one can distinguish between a dog and a sheep in the far distance, that is when day begins."

Another said, "It is when you can tell the difference between a fig tree and a date tree, then night is fully gone."

"No, it is neither of those things," said the Rabbi. "It is when you can see your brother or sister in the face of a stranger. Until then, night is still with us."

I will let you decide whether to go or not to go. But this does not mean I do not care enough or that you are not important. On the contrary, I do care and love you. And I know your importance in my life. However, I do not wish our love to be like a plaster that sticks so firmly onto the skin. So tightly that when you need to peel it off, it hurts like hell... We are all like 'wounds' in this world

Sagehood has nothing to do with governing others
but is a matter of ordering oneself. Nobility has
nothing to do with power and rank but is a matter
of self realization. Attain self-realization, and the
whole world is found in the self. Happiness has
nothing to do with wealth and status, but is a matter
of harmony.

No Suffering When Mind is Firm
My mind is firm like rock,
Unattached to sensual things,
Not shaking in the midst
Of a world where all are shaking.
My mind has thus been well developed,
So how can suffering come my way?
~Th. I: 192 ~