Give them some minutes

[Vũ Đàm Linh (Mazerlin)]

Zen Cycling

A Zen teacher saw five of his students returning from the market, riding their bicycles. When they arrived at the monastery and had dismounted, the teacher asked the students, "Why are you riding your bicycles?"
The first student replied, "The bicycle is carrying this sack of potatoes. I am glad that I do not have to carry them on my back!" The teacher praised the first student. "You are a smart boy! When you grow old, you will not walk hunched over like I do."

The second student replied, "I love to watch the trees and fields pass by as I roll down the path!" The teacher commended the second student, "Your eyes are open, and you see the world."

The third student replied, "When I ride my bicycle, I am content to chant nam myoho renge kyo." The teacher gave his praise to the third student, "Your mind will roll with the ease of a newly trued wheel."

The fourth student replied, "Riding my bicycle, I live in harmony with all sentient beings." The teacher was pleased and said to the fourth student, "You are riding on the golden path of non-harming."

The fifth student replied, "I ride my bicyde to ride my bicycle." The teacher sat at the feet of the fifth student and said, "I am your student."


The Used-Donkey Salesman

In a faraway place and a long-ago time, there was once a rich man who gave all his money to the poor, joined a band of hermits, and went to live with them in the desert and worship God.
One day the man was sent to town with another hermit to sell two donkeys that had grown old and could no longer carry their burdens. He went and stood in the marketplace, where shoppers looking for donkeys came to ask if his were worth buying. "If they were worth buying, do you think we'd be selling them?" he replied.

"And why do they have such ragged backs and tails?" he was asked.

"Because they're old and stubborn," he said. "We have to pull their tails and thrash them to make them move."

Since there were no buyers for the donkeys, the man returned with them to the desert, where his companion told the other hermits what had happened. All of them demanded to know why he had frightened the buyers away. "Do you imagine for a moment," he answered, "that I left home and gave everything away, all my camels and cattle and sheep and goats, in order to make a liar of myself for the sake of two old donkeys?"


Love Potion #9

Once upon a time, but not very long ago, in a kingdom both near and far away, there lived a canny scientist who longed for the love of a beautiful woman. Because his first love was not even science but his own knowledge, wise women were wary of the man, and so he lived a very lonely life. One day, the man decided to use his science to win love,
and he set about to concoct a chemical that would cause the object of his affections to fall madly in love with him. Soon his research succeeded, he produced the chemical, and as luck would have it, at just that time he met a beautiful, talented and good woman—the ultimate woman of his dreams.

The scientist arranged for friends to introduce them, and at their first meeting, he poured his potion into her beverage. Lo and behold, his fantasy came true! The exquisite creature fell instantly and completely in love with him, and they soon married.

But was our hero happy? Alas, no. In a short time, he became gaunt from not eating, his work fell by the wayside, and eventually he could not even bring himself to touch his beloved, as he spent every waking moment torturing himself, trying to devise some kind of test to answer his agonized question: "Would she love me if it were not for the chemical?"

For our scientist did crave love, and love cannot be commanded.


The Cautious Man

Not so very many years ago, a man named Patrick wanted to visit the Holy Land. He knew that planes were being hijacked and blown up because of tensions in the region, and being a careful, extremely organized man, he did everything in his power to assure the safety of his journey. But lo and behold, just minutes after takeoff, a bomb exploded under his seat and Patrick was blown out the side of the plane. As he fell, the panic-stricken Patrick thought back on the choices he had made—all his efforts, now apparently so worthless. He had chosen to fly Pan Am rather than TWA; he had decided to change flights in Switzerland rather than the more troubled airports in Germany or Italy; he had chosen to travel on a Saturday rather than midweek; and just a few minutes before the flight took off, he'd asked the cabin attendant to switch him from the aisle to a window seat.
By this time, Patrick was somewhere around eight thousand feet, and his situation seemed grim indeed. From the depth of his faith, Patrick called out for assistance. "Saint Francis," he cried, "help me!"

Suddenly, amazingly, a hand reached down from the heavens, grabbed Patrick by the scruff of his jacket, and held him there, suspended in midair, thousands of feet above the earth. And then, as he caught his breath, Patrick became aware that there was a voice attached to the hand, and that the voice was asking: "Which Saint Francis?"



The Final Lesson

The devotee knelt to be initiated into discipleship. The guru whispered the sacred mantra into his ear, warning him not to reveal it to anyone.
"What will happen if I do?" asked the devotee.

Said the guru, "Anyone to whom you reveal the mantra will be liberated from the bondage of ignorance and suffering, but you yourself will be excluded from discipleship and suffer damnation."

No sooner had he heard those words than the devotee rushed to the marketplace, collected a large crowd around him, and repeated the sacred mantra for all to hear.

The disciples later reported this to the guru and demanded that the man be expelled from the monastery for his disobedience. The guru smiled and said, "He has no need of anything I can teach. His action has shown him to be a guru in his own right."

 

[(Unregistered)]

entertaining yet highly educational. The mods of this board 'r doing a really good job. Just wanna say thanks.

a guest.

 

[Vũ Đàm Linh (Mazerlin)]

Many thanks to you. I have been waiting for any reply from anyone just to... reply. I am running the risk of being accused of insanity if there is only me... to talk with...meeeee and post something for me to read.(

Again thank you for visiting English board.

 

[Vũ Đàm Linh (Mazerlin)]

Chinese tales

The Old Man of the Steppes Finds a Horse

Once upon a time, there was a wise old man who lived in the steppes. He owned many horses. One evening, after a long day of working in the fields, he came home to discover that one of his horses--a mare, had run off. His family and his neighbours searched the surrounding area. When they finally gave up, they sent him their condolences, “We are sorry that this unfortunate incident happened to you.” The old man of the steppes remarked calmly, “The loss of my mare is not necessarily a bad thing. All will be shown for its true worth in time.”

The next morning, the old man of the steppes looked up in the horizon and saw two horses coming towards his house. The first horse was his mare that had run off, and the other was a stallion following the mare. Even from a distance, he could see that this stallion was a war horse of great stature and worth. He quickly inquired at the county office whether anyone had reported the loss of their stallion. The county magistrate advised him to keep the horse until someone had reported it missing. That evening, the old man’s family and his neighbours celebrated the return of his mare as well as his newly acquired stallion. At the celebration, he was called upon to make a speech. The old man of the steppes stood up and remarked calmly, “The acquisition of this stallion is not necessarily a good thing. all will be shown for its true worth in time.”

A week later, the old man’s son took the stallion out for a ride. Not being skilled in manoeuvering a great war horse, the boy suffered a terrible fall. As a result, his leg was broken. The old man’s family and his neighbours crowded around the boy and commented, “This is an awful thing that has happened. This stallion has brought bad luck to the family.” The old man of the steppes stood by the boy and remarked calmly, “This accident is not necessarily a bad thing. All will be shown for its true worth in time.”

Sometime later, the kingdom was involved in a cruel and unjust war with a neighbouring kingdom. All the young men of the kingdom were called upon to enlist in the army. The old man’s neighbours lamented as all their sons were called off to fight in the war. It was impossible to escape the draft as the enlisting officers moved from county to county and house to house in search of all the young men. Inevitably, they finally came upon the old man’s house.

Seeing the stallion in the yard, they remarked to themselves, “This must be the home of a great warrior. But why has this coward not gone off to war? We must seize him at once.” When they searched the house, they found only the old man of the steppes, his wife and their crippled son. The enlisting officers then remarked, “This young man would have been a fine soldier if it were not for his broken leg. We cannot take him with us.” And thus, their son was exempted from fighting in the war. The old man’s neighbours, observing with amazement the declared, “What wisdom this old man has, that he can foresee both good and bad incidences for what they are truly worth!”

~~~~~~~~~~

Old Man Yu Moves the Mountains

Once upon a time, there were two mountains that stood right beside each other. The first was name, “Tai-Ying” and the second was named, “Yellow House.” Both were over ten-thousand feet high, and together, they were four-hundred miles wide.

Facing the mountains lived Old Man Yu, who was over eighty-years-old and also known throughout the county for his foolishness. Every morning, as Old Man Yu walked to the village, his wife would shake her head as she saw him make yet another detour around the two mountains. As the years went by, he found it a great inconvenience to make these daily detours. So one day, Old Man Yu finally decided that the twin mountains would have to be moved.

He then called a family meeting and told his wife, sons, daughters, and their families of his intentions. “I will move these two mountains,” Old Man Yu cried, “and you will all help me do it!” Old Man Yu’s sons and grandsons thought it was a terrific idea. They cheered and gave him their undying support. Old Man Yu’s wife sneered, “You are a foolish old man indeed! Just how would you go about moving two big mountains like Tai-Ying and Yellow-House?” she continued, “never mind two mountains, I do not think you can even move two piles of cow-dung! And even if you could move the mountains, just where would you dispose of the dirt and rocks from the mountains? Huh?!?” she cried.

The old man thought for a moment, and without backing down answered her, “I will throw out the dirt and rocks into a faraway place. I will throw them into the sea!” Once again, Old Man Yu’s sons and grandsons thought that it was a terrific idea to throw the dirt into the sea. They cheered a second time and pledged to him their dying support. Even the neighbouring widow’s son named, Little Turnip Boy, gave the old man his support although he was only eight-years-old.

Off went Old Man Yu, his three sons, his many, countless grandsons, and Little Turnip Boy to work on removing Tai-Ying and Yellow House. It was such grueling work that in a year’s time, Little Turnip Boy was only able to make one trip to the sea to dispose of the dirt and rocks. Nonetheless, no one lost their enthusiasm, as they all held steadfast to Old Man Yu’s dream of having the two mountains removed.

Now on one of their trips to the sea, they met a man who lived along the Yellow River, who was known throughout the county for his cleverness and his arrogance. The clever man, who lived by the Yellow River mocked Old Man Yu saying, “You foolish old man! I have seen you, your three sons, your many, countless grandsons, and even Little Turnip Boy making trips to the sea to dispose of the dirt and rocks from the mountains. Do you think that you can actually remove two whole mountains? And look at you! You must be over ninety-years-old and closer to the grave as each day passes. How do you expect to move two mountains in your lifetime?”

Old Man Yu looked upon the Yellow River Man with pity. “You are known throughout the entire country as a clever man. Yet, you are a man lacking in vision. Regarding this matter, even Little Turnip Boy has more wisdom than you.” Old Man Yu continued, “You are correct in saying that I am an old man who is closer to the grave as each day passes. But I have three sons, and many, countless grandsons. In time, my grandsons will bear their own children, who, in turn, will bear even more children. So in time, my dream of removing these two mountains will become a reality. As each day passes, my dream can only increase, as these two mountains can only decrease.”