By Paulo Coelho
The monk Tetsugen had a dream: to publish a book in Japanese, containing all the sacred verses. Determined to transform this dream into reality, he began to travel the country in order to raise the necessary money.
However, just as he had managed to get together enough money to begin work on the project, the river Uji flooded, provoking a catastrophe of gigantic proportions. When he saw the victims of the flood, Tetsugen resolved to spend all the money he had collected on relieving the sufferings of the people.
Afterwards, he resumed his struggle to make his dream come true: he went from door to door, he visited the various islands of Japan, and once more he managed to raise the money he needed. When he returned, exultant, to Edo, a cholera epidemic was sweeping the country. Again, the monk used the money to treat the sick and to help the families of the dead.
Undeterred, he returned to his original project. He set off again and, nearly twenty years later, he published seven thousand copies of the sacred verses.
They say that Tetsugen actually published three separate editions of the sacred texts, but the first two are invisible.
Welcome to Share with Friends – Free Texts for a Free Internet
No será triste, será HORRIBLE. Una pesadilla.
This story reminds me MOTHER TERESA of Calcutta.
Helping the poor only by hearing the voice of Jesus…. helping others by AND with love… The power of INtention….
But us we can do the same as this japanese monk in every day, in very moment, in every action…. by the power of intention.
Thanks to all
Love to all..
SWEET BUTTER
Oh and i agree with esteban, the monk never saw his dream as over, just merely as a challenge to start it again. No matter what life brings to you, you can remind positive, and face it, even challenging it, thinking no matter what happens, i’m getting there. I will get my dream.. Life, bring it on!
*grin*
Dearest Paulo,
I loved this story. Yes, it is true that we have many obstacles before we reach our dreams, but its the choices we make, either choosing the short or long paths, that make us who we are. As much as this monk loved his dream, he loved people as well, and his sense of selflessness, is what made him a great man. For he not only read his scared texts, but he practiced them, which is my eyes is whats most important. There are many people in this world that will, preach about religion and so forth, but they themselves are not willing to put anyone before themselves, for helping people in such a way is an act of love, unconditional love. And in truth, love is what really matters. Whether it is Love for a dream, or for people, or anything. Love is everything. Simply said.
Thank you for being.
Yajna
HOLA PAULO COMO ESTAS ESPERO DE LO MEJOR AHORITA ESTOY LEYENDO SE COMO EL RIO QUE FLUYE Y VAMOS ES MUY BUENO ME GUSTA COMO TE EXPRESAS DE TU CASA DEL MOLINO PLATICAME COMO ES SABES YA HE PENSADO EN COMPRARME UNA ASI JEJEJ AHORA QUE ME VAYA DE MEXICO A VIVIR EN NUEVA ZELANDA UN ABRAZO AMIGO
I think one thing that is different about the Monk and about our situations is that the Monk never stopped working towards his dream. We have to put it off, but we could be working toward it while putting it off to take care of other responsibilities. Once we have the time/funds available we need to make it happen instead of just then starting to get things ready.
This is what happened with my Studio, where I vowed to make my dreams come true…it kind of got put on hold when another artist arrived, and it’s taken the best part of ten years, studio on hold, to teach it to behave reasonably and how to use a pen or pencil….and I, still learning, am juggling priorities every moment and loving the Spirit of Life.
Love to all
Work originating from such generosity will become immortal.Even if it took time to crystallise , it will live on for ever.
No será triste, será HORRIBLE. Una pesadilla.
Hilal, esa pregunta es muy natural, pero también es muy triste. Hazla a quien tú quieras, pero no a Paulo. No quiero pensar eso. Paulo, cuidate mucho para que vivas el máximo tiempo posible.
Te quiero mucho, y ese día será el segundo día más triste de toda mi vida.
What a nice story about a generous soul. It takes a lot to give up your dreams in order to love other people and give them what they need. Anyway, that’s not an easy task. For example, I feel frustrated when I can’t work in what I like because I have to support a family. I mean I love my family but it’s hard for me to work in something that I don’t like in order to get the money necessary to pay my bills. However I haven’t given up, I believe that sooner or later I will be able to do what I like and at the same time support my family and have enough time to look after my daughter.
I hope my story develops as nicely as yours, I guess I should also be more generous and stop complainig so much, and maybe I will get what I want.