Interesting/Inspirational Stories, Proverb and Saying

Victory breeds hatred, for the defeated live in pain.  Happily live the peaceful, giving up victory and defeat.

Buddhism
Dhammapada 201


Do you want long life and happiness? Strive for peace with all your heart.

Christianity & Judaism
Psalm 34: 12, 14
King James Version


"Through what can the Empire be settled?  Through unity.  Who can unite it?  One who is not fond of killing."

Confucianism
Mencius 1.A.6

[ Last edited by lyhmsia on 16-2-2005 at 12:42 PM ]

Thy Lord has decreed... that you be kind to parents. Whether one or both of them attain old age in your lifetime, do not say to them a word of contempt, nor repel them, but address them in terms of honor. And, out of kindness, lower to them the wing of humility, and say, "My Lord! bestow on them Thy mercy even as they cherished me in childhood."

Islam
Qur'an 17.23



One companion asked, "O Apostle of God! Who is the person worthiest of my consideration?" He replied, "Your mother." He asked again, "And second to my mother?" The Prophet said, "Your mother." The companion insisted, "And then?" The Messenger of God said, "After your mother, your father."

Islam
Hadith of Bukhari and Muslim



There are three partners in man, God, father, and mother. When a man honors his father and mother, God says, "I regard it as though I had dwelt among them and they had honored me."

Judaism
Talmud, Kiddushin 30b



COMMENT: WHY ALL RELIGIOUS PEOPLE HAVE TO CRITIZE ONE ANOTHER?

(I LOVE THIS STORY A LOT SO I WOULD SUGGEST YOU READ IT TOO)

The River and the Clouds
Thich Nhat Hanh


Once upon a time there was a beautiful river finding her way among the hills, forests, and meadows. She began by being a joyful stream of water, a spring always dancing and singing as she ran down from the top of the mountain. She was very young at the time, and as she came to the lowland she slowed down. She was thinking about going to the ocean. As
she grew up, she learned to look beautiful, winding gracefully among the hills and meadows.

One day she noticed the clouds within herself. Clouds of all sorts of colors and forms. She did nothing during these days but chase after clouds. She wanted to possess a cloud, to have one for herself. But clouds float and travel in the sky, and they are always changing their form. Sometimes they look like an overcoat, sometimes like a horse. Because of the nature of
impermanence within the clouds, the river suffered very much. Her pleasure, her joy had become just chasing after clouds, one after another, but despair, anger,and hatred became her life.

Then one day a strong wind came and blew away all the clouds in the sky. The sky became completely empty. Our river thought that life was not worth living, for there were no longer any clouds to chase after. She wanted to die. "If there are no clouds, why should I be alive?" But how can a river take her own life?

That night the river had the opportunity to go back to herself for the first time. She had been running for so long after something outside of herself that she had never seen herself. That night was the first
opportunity for her to hear her own crying, the sounds of water crashing against the banks of the river. Because she was able to listen to her own voice, she discovered something quite important.

She realized that what she had been looking for was already in herself. She found out that clouds are nothing but water. Clouds are born from water and will return to water. And she found out she herself was also water.

The next morning when the sun was in the sky, she discovered something beautiful. She saw the blue sky for the first time. She had never noticed it before. She had only been interested in clouds, and she had missed seeing the sky, which is the home of all the clouds. Clouds are impermanent, but the sky is stable.

She realized that the immense sky had been within her heart since the very beginning. This great insight brought her peace and happiness. As she saw the vast wonderful blue sky, she knew that her peace and
stability would never be lost again.

That afternoon the clouds returned, but this time she did not want to possess any of them. She could see the beauty of each cloud, and she was able to welcome all of them. When a cloud came by, she would
greet him or her with loving-kindness. When the cloud wanted to go away, she would wave to him or her happily and with loving kindness. She realized that all clouds are her. She didn't have to choose between
the clouds and herself. Peace and harmony existed between her and the clouds.

That evening something wonderful happened. When she opened her heart completely to the evening sky she received the image of the full moon - beautiful, round, like a jewel within herself. She had never
imagined that she could receive such a beautiful image. There is a very beautiful poem in Chinese: "The fresh and beautiful moon is travelling in the utmost empty sky. When the mind-rivers of living beings are
free, that image of the beautiful moon will reflect in each of us."

This was the mind of the river at that moment. She received the image of that beautiful moon within her heart, and water, clouds, and moon took each other's hands and practiced walking meditation slowly, slowly to the ocean.

There is nothing to chase after. We can go back to ourselves, enjoy our breathing, our smiling, ourselves, and our beautiful environment.

During the Kamakura period, Shinkan studied Tendai six years and then studied Zen seven years; then he went to China and contemplated Zen for thirteen years more.

When he returned to Japan many desired to interview him and asked obscure questions. But when Shinkan received visitors, which was infrequently, he seldom answered their questions.

One day a fifty-year-old student of enlightenment said to Shinkan: "I have studied the Tendai school of thought since I was a little boy, but one thing in it I cannot understand. Tendai claims that even the grass and trees will become enlightened. To me this seems very strange."

"Of what use is it to discuss how grass and trees become enlightened?" asked Shinkan. "The question is how you yourself can become so. Did you even consider that?"

"I never thought of it that way," marveled the old man.

"Then go home and think it over," finished Shinkan. :hmm:

Life is 10 percent what you make it, and 90 percent how you take it.

The Sack
A Sufi Story from the Middle East

Mula came upon a frowning man walking along the road to town. "What's wrong?" he asked.

The man held up a tattered bag and moaned, "All that I own in this wide world barely fills this miserable, wretched sack."

"Too bad," said Mula, and with that, he snatched the bag from the man's hands and ran down the road with it.

Having lost everything, the man burst into tears and, more miserable than before, continued walking. Meanwhile, Mula quickly ran around the bend and placed the man's sack in the middle of the road where he would have to come upon it.

When the man saw his bag sitting in the road before him, he laughed with joy, and shouted, "My sack! I thought I'd lost you!"

Watching through the bushes, Mula chuckled. "Well, that's one way to make someone happy!"


SUFISM

A Martial Artist...

Doesn't care about the damage they can do with their techniques but on what good can be done with them. They don't feel the need to show off or prove themselves. They are humble with no ego. They realize they are nothing and hope someday to become something. They realize that there are others who's jobs and skills are far more important than their own. They desire to learn everything they can about life and to teach others. They understand that perfection is a road, not a destination and the most important technique they can learn is to make an enemy into a friend.

Always Remember Those who Serve:In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a ten year old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him. "How much is an ice cream sundae?" "Fifty cents," replied the waitress. The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied a number of coins in it. "How much is a dish of plain ice cream?" he inquired. Some people were now waiting for a table and the waitress was a bit impatient. "Thirty-five cents," she said brusquely. The little boy again counted the coins. "I'll have the plain ice cream," he said. The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and departed. When the waitress came back, she began wiping down the table and then swallowed hard at what she saw: there, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies - her tip.

Pickup in the Rain:

One night, at 11:30pm, an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rain storm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to help her - generally unheard-of in those conflict filled 1960's. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance, and put her in to a taxi cab. She seemed to be in a big hurry! She wrote down his address, thanked him, and drove away. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A special note was attached. It read: "Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes but my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away. God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others."

Sincerely,
Mrs. Nat King Cole.

The second woman I want to tell you about is Maura O'Halloran. Maura was the daughter of an American mother and an Irish father. She was born in Boston in 1955 and raised in Ireland from age 4 and where she went to convent schools and Trinity College in Dublin. She excelled in school and was drawn to social work with drug addicts and the very poor in Dublin. Perhaps she was inspired by the famous woman who had long previously attended her high school, Mother Theresa. After college she moved to Boston and worked as a waitress. When she was twenty-four years old, she decided to travel to Japan to study Buddhism. O'Halloran was the first foreigner and the first woman ever admitted to Toshoji Temple, a strict Zen monastery. She agreed to the rigorous teaching regimen of her teacher梠ne thousand days of rigors and hardships. When she finished, her teacher proclaimed that she was truly enlightened, quicker than any other monk he had known. She was twenty-seven years old when she received the transmission of Buddhist teaching and identified as an advanced teacher, a Buddha. She left the Temple to return to Ireland to visit family. On the way to the airport, she was at the front of a very crowded bus that was in a horrible accident. Maura O'Halloran was killed.

Her mother received the journals that she wrote during her trip, including the one thousand days of rigorous practice at Toshoji Temple. Her writings published with the title Pure Heart, Enlightened Mind. The journal entries are one of the finest expressions, not descriptions, but expressions of Buddhism I have ever read. She is writing simply for herself. She wrote on one occasion: 揑抎 be embarrassed to tell anyone, it sounds so wishy-washy, but now I have maybe 50 or 60 years (who knows?) of time, of a life, open, blank, ready to offer. I want to live it for other people. What else is there to do with it? Not that I expect to change the world or even a blade of grass but it抯 as if to give myself is all I can do, as the flowers have no choice but to blossom.

A monk, taking a bamboo stick, said to the people, "If you call this a stick, you fall into the trap of words, but if you do not call it a stick, you contradict facts. So what do you call it?" At that time a monk in the assembly came forth. He snatched the stick, broke it in two, and threw the pieces across the room.

A philosopher asked Buddha: "Without words, without silence, will you tell me the truth?" The Buddha sat quietly. The philosopher then bowed and thanked the Buddha, saying, "With your loving kindness I have cleared away my delusions and entered the true path." After the philosopher had gone, Ananda asked Buddha what the philosopher had attained. The Buddha commented, "A good horse runs even at the shadow of the whip."

Read more at: http://www.tzuchi.org/global/inspiration/stories/story01.html

Born handicapped

Ah-yi's optimism and cheerfulness inspired me to pay him a visit. Located right on a busy road in the city of Hsintien, the house he lived in was filled with the noise of street traffic. Ah-yi was sitting at the door, where he usually sits from morning till night, guarding the house like a door god. His mother had just returned from collecting garbage in the streets. There were still raindrops on her clothes.

"It's raining, so I came home early today." Mrs. Wu was nearly eighty years old but still looked hale and hearty. "Heaven pities me for having to take care of my little boy, so it would not have me fall sick." When she smiled, she looked like Maitreya, the future Buddha, who is famous for his ear-to-ear grin.

Ah-yi and his mother have only each other to depend on. Ever since he was confined to a wheelchair six or seven years ago, he has had to rely on his mother for his daily necessities.

"Every day I just sit here watching television or chatting with my mom over tea." Having lived like this for several years, he has long grown used to the monotony of such a life. "So many years have passed, but my mom still loves me and dotes on me as if I were still a little boy." He pointed at the dark-green tweed cap he was wearing. "Mom bought this for me to keep me warm. Isn't it beautiful?" His face shone with immeasurable pride.

According to Mrs. Wu, Ah-yi was born with deformed hands and feet. His grandfather once wanted to give him away, but she could not bear to part with him. Moved by her tearful pleading, her father-in-law gave in and agreed to keep the baby. "Although he was a cripple, he was still my child and a part of me. I resolved to bring him up no matter what hardships I might have to go through." Her insistence saved the baby's life.

Every time their neighbors saw Ah-yi, they would point at him and whisper. "Both of his parents are whole of limb. How come they gave birth to such a cripple? They must have done bad things in their previous lives." "Maybe there is some problem with the location of their house [according to Chinese geomancy]." "Maybe the house disagrees with him?" Every word the gossipy neighbors said pierced his mother's heart like a thorn.

Giving When it Counts

Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare and serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness.

The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying,

"Yes, I'll do it if it will save her."

As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the colour returning to her cheeks. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away?"

Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her.

You see, after all, understanding and attitude, are everything.

The third woman I want to tell you about is Vera Bohle. She was born in 1969 and is from Germany. Her vocation is clearing landmines. After completing her studies at Cologne University, she worked as a TV journalist for a German station, covering horrific situations that she felt powerless to do anything about. At age 29, she decided to become a de-miner. In the last five years, she has cleared landmines in the former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Mozambique and Zimbabwe.

When asked by a journalist of Ode Magazine why she was so eager to get involved, she responded, 揑 suspect it抯 nothing more than my attempt to play a positive, active role so I don抰 feel like I抦 simply a passive victim. I am also eager to represent Germany in the process of peace and reconstruction, given that my country was the source of a great deal of destruction over the past century. My mother experienced the horrors of World War II as a child. She was evacuated and lost her home twice during the bombings, and her father never returned home from the war. But from the moment I felt drawn to this work, I had no desire to analyze my choice. Insight leads to nothing if it doesn抰 affect your behavior.

USELESS TREES

A wandering monk saw on his travels a gigantic old oak tree standing in front of the door of a monastery. Under it sat the chief monk. The traveler called out to him, "This is a useless tree! If you wanted to make a ship, it would soon rot. If you wanted to make tools, they would soon break. You can't do anything useful with this tree, and that's why it has become so old." The chief monk replied, "Keep your mouth shut! What do you know about it? You compare this tree to your cultivated trees; your orange, pear and apple trees, and all others that bear fruit. Even before they can ripen their fruit, people attack and violate them. Their branches are broken, their wings are torn. Their own gifts bring harm to them, and they cannot live out their natural span. If this tree had been useful in any way, would it have ever reached this size? "You useless mortal man, what do you know about useless trees?"

A novice said to a master, "I want to be a great man. What is the first thing I should do?" The master answered, "Forget about being a great man."

I can resist everything except temptation.
Oscar Wilde

If you find a good solution and become attached to it, the solution may become your next problem.
Robert Anthony

Tell me what you need and I'll tell you how to get along without it.
Anonymous

It matters not whether you win or lose; what matters is whether I win or lose.

This is an article about institution training human to kill. I realize this article might not be suitable for this thread but I abhor violence and killing; thus, I want to share this article with you. I hope this would help us realize it's not natural for us to kill another human being. Also, help us realize how we can be inhumane.

Continue reading: http://www.mayogenuine.com/killing.htm
(Part of the article is about sales too)

First heard the author, Dave Grossman, on a radio interview promoting this book. I heard him say that that in the history of combat from Alexander the Great through World War II only about 15% of soldiers in battle were trying to kill the enemy. He's not talking about the long administrative and logistical tail of the army. Only 15-20% of the people with guns or swords in their hands, facing an enemy trying to harm them, were willing to kill that enemy. I know this is hard to believe. I first heard this statistic from a pacifist and I called him a liar. Then I heard it from this author, a former US Army Colonel and military historian, who references the research of the US Army's official W.W.II historian as well as many other scholars.

Once one accepts this fact, two questions immediately present themselves: "Why?" and "What to do about it?" The first question is easy: most humans have a deep and strong taboo against looking a person in the face and destroying them. Many would literally rather die than cross that line. The second question is more complex and hugely interesting.

Clearly, if only 15% of the assets you have expensively brought to face an enemy are performing, your army has a major problem. The US Army raised this traditional firing rate from 15% up to 50% between W.W.II and the Korean conflict and again to better than 95% in Vietnam and Desert Storm. The British similarly increased their firing rate, to devastating effect in the Falklands against Argentines still performing at traditional levels. All modern militaries have since solved the problem. How?

The low firing rates have been cured by the new ways modern militaries train and lead soldiers. Grossman reports five factors which influence (determine?) the likelihood of a person to kill [Click to see graphic.]:

Predisposition of Killer Temperament
Training / Conditioning
Recent Experiences

Attractiveness of Target Relevance
Payoff

Distance from Target Physical distance
Emotional distance

Group Absolution Support for kill
Identification with group
Proximity of group
Number in group
legitimacy of group

Demands of Authority Intensity of demand for kill
Legitimacy of authority
Respect for authority
Proximity

[ Last edited by lyhmsia on 5-3-2005 at 12:37 AM ]

His Holiness Dalai Lama quotes:

"I always believe that it is much better to have a variety of religions, a variety of philosophies, rather than one single religion or philosophy. This is necessary because of the different mental dispositions of each human being. Each religion has certain
unique ideas or techniques, and learning about them can only enrich one's own faith."

"My message is the practice of compassion, love, and kindness. Compassion can be put into practice if one recognizes the fact that every human being is a member of humanity and the human family regardless of differences in religion, culture, color, and creed. Deep down there is no difference." "We should try never to let our happy frame of mind be disturbed. Whether we are suffering at present or have suffered in the past, there is no reason to be unhappy. If we can remedy it, why be unhappy? And if we cannot, what use is there in being depressed about it? That just adds more unhappiness and does no good at all."
"By developing a sense of respect for others and a concern for their welfare, we reduce our own selfishness, which is the source of all problems, and enhance our sense of kindness which is a natural source of goodness."

"You should respect other religions....the essence of all religions is basically the same: to achieve a true sense of brotherhood, a good heart, respect for others. If we can develop these qualities from within our heart, then I think we can actually achieve true peace.