Most common superstitions in Brasil

November 26, 2010 by

A bird in the house is a sign of a death

Never take a broom along when you move. Throw it out and buy a new one.

If the first butterfly you see in the year is white, you will have good luck all year.

If a black cat walks towards you, it brings good fortune, but if it walks away, it takes the good luck with it.

To kill a cat brings seven years of bad luck

It’s bad luck to leave a house through a different door than the one used to come into it.

A horseshoe brings good luck

If a friend gives you a knife, you should give him a coin (metal), or your friendship will soon be broken.

Walking under a ladder has long been regarded a bad luck

If you broke a mirror, you would break your future.

Many Brazilians dress in white on Fridays

Filed Under: News, Studies

El discípulo borracho

November 26, 2010 by


Illustration by Ken Crane

Un maestro zen tenía centenas de discípulos. Todos rezaban cuando había que hacerlo, excepto uno, que se pasaba el día borracho.

El maestro fue envejeciendo. Algunos de los discípulos más virtuosos comenzaron a discutir quién sería el nuevo líder del grupo, quién acogería los importantes secretos de la Tradición.

En la víspera de su muerte, sin embargo, el maestro llamó al discípulo borracho y le transmitió a él los secretos ocultos.

Un auténtico sentimiento de rebelión se apoderó de todos los demás.

-¡Qué vergüenza! – gritaban por las calles -. Todo este tiempo nos sacrificamos por un maestro equivocado, que no sabe valorar nuestras cualidades.

Escuchando la algarabía que había fuera, el maestro agonizante comentó:

-Yo necesitaba transmitir estos secretos a un hombre que conociese bien. Todos mis alumnos eran muy virtuosos, y sólo mostraban sus cualidades. Eso es peligroso, pues la virtud en muchas ocasiones sirve para esconder la vanidad, el orgullo, o la intolerancia.

Por eso elegí al único discípulo que conocía realmente bien, puesto que podía ver su debilidad: la bebida.

Filed Under: Guerrero de la Luz

Learning to take care of oneself

November 26, 2010 by

- For years I have sought enlightenment – said the disciple. – I feel I am near it and want to know how to take the next step.

- A man who knows how to seek God knows also how to take care of himself. How do you support yourself? – asked the master.

- That is just a detail. I have rich parents who help me along my spiritual path. Because of that, I can dedicate myself entirely to sacred things.

- Very well – said the master. – I will explain to you the next step: look at the sun for half a minute.

The disciple obeyed.

When he had finished, the master asked him describe the landscape around him.

- I can’t. The sun’s brightness dazzled my eyes.

- A man who looks fixedly at the sun ends up blind. A man who only looks for Light, and shifts his responsibilities onto the shoulders of others, never finds what he is seeking – was the master’s comment.

Filed Under: 20 SECOND Stories