A farm labourer with a sick wife, asked a Buddhist monk to say a series of prayers. The priest began to pray, asking God to cure all those who were ill.
‘Just a moment,’ said the farm labourer. ‘I asked you to pray for my wife and there you are praying for everyone who’s ill.’
‘I’m praying for her too.’
‘Yes, but you’re praying for everyone. You might end up helping my neighbour, who’s also ill, and I don’t even like him.’
‘You understand nothing about healing,’ said the monk, moving off. ‘By praying for everyone, I am adding my prayers to those of the millions of people who are also praying for their sick.
‘Added together, those voices reach God and benefit everyone. Separately, they lose their strength and go nowhere.’
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When asking the question such as: ‘What can I do to help?’..the universe (God) will always send us the right answer…. love :)
Warm rgs,
Barbara
This concept has been present in sikhism since it was founded. the concept of “sarbat the bhalla” literally means good for all! it is recited daily in the prayer!
you should explore some sikhism as most ideas that you touch upon are already described there!
but awesome work
thanks!
Nice. Collectivity always works.
Dear Paulo,
you are such a hero… You always encourage and uplift so many people to the truth and that with written words, that´s an art. Just wanted to tell you, after reading this small text, the comments and having read your e-cards. They are very great. Lot´s of love & light and always the very best. Regards from coldcountry.
Hmm, pretty interesting. Smart monk is smart!
In Agent Scandal, Inquiry Leads to Colombian Bordellos
By WILLIAM NEUMAN and MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT
Investigators are searching for as many as 21 women who are believed to include prostitutes and to have spent the night with a group of security officers.
WHY DON’T THESE POLITICIANS READ the book ELEVEN MINUTES?
This was thought provoking. I had to look into my heart to understand how gracious that action, belief, and attitude was. Grace gives to all and is the highest form of ethics. Even more powerful is to join with the prayers of those that have passed away. The deep Catholic faith historically believes and understands this well. And I’m sure other religions do too.
the power of unity indeed
NOch Noch
Ciao Bella-
Bella musica e danza
‘Slave to the music’ for me is
S l Ave – es el Ave
It’s the Ave, the Hail Mary
The answer to the dream
The revelation
Rev elation
The reve (dream), the elation.
J. Morrisson
M or is son
is the son that likes the Light
:)
With love
Marie-Christine
are you sure this buddhist monk is not a catholic in disguise? what if she wants to die? what if it is her time to go? why separate people in sick ones and healthy ones? in my view sickness and health are not states of being but processes which are happening within every living being all the time. we are always whole, and sick and healthy. and we are always praying, even those who do not believe in god. but it is the sound more than the words that matters. because the sound contains the meaning of this moment. perhaps the husband needs healing more than she. it is ok.
Excerpts from a note ‘THANK YOU…..))’ A true form of prayer lies in feeling obliged for whatever one has been served with. The initial resources and logistic support i.e. air, water, light, plants, food, mountain, flowers are provided to us by one and only i.e. God. The god has given us this beautiful life of our own choice. He further gives opportunity to us to get merged with him. That is why we belong to him. We are his children. Remembering him through prayer is like thanking him for all his favors to us. On going further in this life we know and understand various forms of emotions shared through experiences. Some of the emotions are co-related with other things exist in our life…….
So wise!
Dear Paulo,
It is the humanism in Buddhist Philosophy. I’m really happy that u have shared this story with all of ur fans. But i want to say, there are no any contacts with Gods in “REAL” Buddhism. no prayings as well. I think what u wanted to compress is the “invoke blessings” .
thank you very much.
Thushari.
this is true.bhudists dont direct to any God their feelings.they dont pray too. they reach another dimension.
that is why it’s almost impossible to win the lottery. everybody’s praying for their own ticket. ;)
On the serious side, I have experienced a Taize pilgrimage held in the Philippines in 2010, where people of different race and religion gathered together to pray collectively. It was beautiful!
We should all start praying for each other. :)
Very True, One should wish the best for everyone, I teach my 2 daughters from an Early age to include all people and wish them joy and Happiness.
Tara Hamdi (Abu Dhabi) Now Denmark.
v deep and thought provoking
We all are HIS team , together with should pray and play , this is the simple way to be happy , without wining any game|
I have learned (and continue to learn) to ask God to heal those who have caused me great pain and suffering rather asking God to help me get through my crisis. I ask for the help of all my ancestors, angels, saints, and the Holy Trinity to come forth and bring healing, forgiveness and peace of mind to us all. That one single change of perspective has enlightened my heart and brought me a calmness that just praying to help me get through this never did. Opening our hearts up for the benefit of the greater good is always a positive step. Namaste
Has el Bien sin mirar a quien
I disagree, where it says: ‘Seperatly they lose their strenght, and go nowhere.’ It cannot be, God knows what we need even without one asking. All prayers individual and collective reach God. It’s when you lose faith that one’s prayers might go unheard…Victoria…
Thank you for always sharing from the heart. Magically it most often turns out to be what my heart needs to hear. I’m beginning to believe that universally, hearts know what the world needs and just put it out there for those who pass by to enjoy. Thanks again!
I’m not sure what I find most fascinating…that people truly believe that God only has the power to help one person at a time, or that one’s selfishness can overpower their belief in the divine. We are all one soul, interconnected in the strands of the divine; to help one is to help all. When we truly grasp this notion, only then will we reignite the flame of the Godforce and live as one humanity. Sending out a big hug to all xx
i like
In Sikhism we always pray for everyone. We say Nanak naam chardi kala, Tere bhane Sarbat da bhala. This statement is repeated by all practising Sikhs at least twice daily (if not more) as part of their Nitnem (daily prayers). This concept is central to Sikhism and forms a very important and essential role in the religious philosophy of the Sikh Gurus. To put this in concise and clear language, it means that the Sikh desires, prays and asks God for the: Well being of all of humanity
Prosperity for everyone in the worldwide community and
Global Peace for the entire planet.
A true Sikh selflessly prays daily for “all to prosper”. This gesture comes from the clear and pure teaching of Gurbani (Sri Guru Granth Sahib, SGGS) and forms the Gurmat code of conduct. Gurbani tells us that there are no “others”. There is only One. The same One God resides within all. We are all the children of that One God. As the potter makes pots of different forms and colors from the same basic clay; and as the goldsmith moulds jewellery of various types, colors and shapes from the same single homogenous material, gold; similarly, we are all born of the same One Light. There is no difference. from Sikhiwiki
In India we were taught “Loka samastha sukhino bhavanthu”.. Let the whole world be happy. Its a universal prayer which you say at the end of your offerings to god. Now with this story, why I was taught that is very very clear!
‘Whenever two or more of you are gathered in my Name, I am in the midst of you!!-God
I loved the story it is time for all of us to get together and pray for our world . The ones who are awake will pray but we shall dream that many more will be awaken beginning with our families and friends
Excuse me, but there is no such thing as “God” in Buddhism. This is a misrepresentation. Buddhism is not Christianity or any other monotheistic religion. It is a totally different approach.
Beautiful! Its like my experience, when I was so bitter about missing my children, and I was confronted by the pain I saw in the eyes of another parent, read on… http://wp.me/p235JA-g
Hi,
Its a beautiful story…..
I am a spiritual person, but I would like to ask questions because I think that everyone, how expert and great he/she is….keeps learning new things and learning is an endless process.
The questions arise in mind after reading everyone’s comments above. Some of those comments say:
“People like him might then complain why me, why not my neighbour? But a lot of people will start to ask the right question”
“They will truly ask, what did I do wrong and then they will get an answer from God. After they found out what was wrong they will ask, how can I do better and god will answer again. ”
“Since there will be a lot of people asking these questions world will change to the place we have been promised a long time ago.”
Now I would like to ask how would you solve a problem if everyone just keeps asking questions only? What about the answers? Is it right to depend on God for the answers? In other words, Is it right to depend on God to ressolve the matter which we made a problem?
If the part of us is God, then its clear, that we must do something to solve the matter and not just sitting in a place praying and doing nothing. Why everyone’s prayers are not listened by God? The reason I feel is that first everyone should try to solve the problem or at least start to work on it.
What would be the difference between a person just praying for everything and a Beggar? If the beggar could use his body parts, he/she should not be a beggar unless he just wants to sit idle. Similarly, if a person is intelligent enough to be able to think so deep and if the part of him is God himself, he doesn’t need to pray for himself. As for praying others would be quite similar as to encourage a beggar to beg more, by giving him money or supplies. Its not the true help to humanity or the peace of world. The real help to a beggar would be to provide him some job or employment but not just money or not just praying to God for him.
Analogically, for a person, if the part of him is God himself, he doesn’t need to pray for himself or for others. Instead, he should be more helpful physically or mentally for himself as well as for others.
Prayers are only required for inner peace. Either you pray for yourselves or for others, actually its your state of mind only, and you get the peace by thinking in a positive way about it, about yourselves or about the world.
Yes you say a beautiful thing we are part of god then we have to be gratefull for every moment of our life this is our power this is the power of the prayer. The prayer is to say thank you for the light that I have, for the help that I can give to the others, for the love that drive me everyday, for the smile that I offer to everyone and also for my pains. Life is like an hill sweet and hard but always true.
……… imagine how coincidences happen when someone begins to pray :)
Estoy totalmente de acuerdo con esta historia, todos venimos del Creadorytodos tenemos que regresar a El ,despues de haber cumplido nuestra mision. Es maravilloso pensar asi para ayudarnos los unos a los otros yser uno con la Fuente. gracias Pablo.
NO SOLO PARA ORAR NECESITAMOS HABLAR!! SOLO CON PENSAR QUE LO ESTAMOS HACIENDO, DIOS NOS ESCUCHA, EL PENSAMIENTO PURO Y SINCERO AL PEDIR POR TODOS LOS ENFERMOS Y TODOS AQUELLOS QUE NECESITAN UNA ORACION, ES MAS FUERTE QUE MIL PALABRAS ALA VEZ, SIN CAUSA Y SIN RAZON!!!
Beautiful:)
Muito bom, Paulo Coelho, a oração acima de tudo…..
Es una hermosa reflexión ya que orar es hablar con nuestro señor de aquellas cosas y preocupaciones de nuestra vida… y que mejor que en nuestra platica con el señor para pedir por todos , para que así nuestro mundo sea un mundo de paz y amor.
Great one, very simple yet deep!!
It is always interesting & informative to learn from other religions & bliefs and to realize at the end that we think almost the same regardless of background.
In Islam, we include others that we don’t know in our prayers including even those who passed away. It gives a lot of relief to feel that at this moment someone whom you don’t know may be praying for you. I feel I owe this person including him/her in my prayers.
La verdad absoluta de la Palabra de Dios es que cuando un miembro padece todos nos dolemos con él. Cuando un hermano esté la mala ,el problema es de todos Somos UN SOLO cuerpo.
Às vezes achamos ver resolvemos tudo sozinho, mas devemos nos conscientizar que o universo é imenso e não estamos sós.
Even better , when everything we do is a prayer to the Divine…
Love and Gratitude
Annie
“When a couple of persons do the same as this monk… we might say that they are purifying the world… and elevate all of souls…” Sending you LIGHT. In mind. In heart. Cris
Thank you,
With love
Marie-Christine
Paulo, just wanna say that I´m a slave to the music!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p69R2Mq_eb0&ob=av2e
Paulo, I will always love you in my own special way (you know that)
Love & Peace
L’egoismo nega l’amore..L’amore non può voler conoscere l’egoismo.Un cuore aperto all’amore restituisce amore ..energia.
L’amore non può voler conoscere l’egoismo. perciò supera le barriere a volte poste per via della sofferenza.Mi piace quanto scritto nel post.
I believe in praying for One you pray for All and in praying for All you pray for One. When I was hospitalized, I met a stranger who was awaiting test results. she was much older than I. In seeing my condition, she not only said a kind word of encouragement to me, she also prayed for me. I did not know her religion or what faith / philosophy she subscribed to other than ‘kindness’ in that moment.
What I gathered from that experience is that if a complete stranger could take the time to pray for me in their own moment of going through a trying situation, then I too can pray for those I do not know and for those I do know all in one breath.
I think the monk understood that in that one woman, many more were represented.
I like this story. What came to mind is there are people who always want to speak for God. It is about their relationship with God, and only take people who see what they see.
Instead why not pray for God, the creator of life and light, to speak to everyone. Why not pray that people who ask for God’s guidance receive it.
Hermosa historia..
Si todos fueramos mas generosos, si pensaramos que somos partes del Todo..
del alma delmundo..y asi no solo nos ayudamos a nosotros mismos..sino a todo ser que necesita ayuda,que esta sufriendo,necesitando un poco de amor..
Con solo una oracion, un abrazo, una frase hecha al viento..podemos dar..sanidad, amor,..,luz
Dar y recibir amor,sin esperar nada a cambio..
Unirnos al universo,ser luz..y reflejar mucha luz..y de igual manera..toda la sanidad,amor luz,de otras almas nos reflejara..
De esta manera el Alma se agranda..somos puntos deluz,que se unen a otros..y juntos podemos ser mas brillante..y asi poder lograr el cambio..
Mucho amor y luz..
True true true! Love Avantika
A born-again Christian friend(Bless you Sarah) who quoted from the Holy Bible said to me once: Only the sick need a physician.
Makes me wonder what the wife’s “sickness” was about? Physical or mental?
Mode of Treatment varies according to the ailment and the person or so say the doctors.
Love
sheela
Greed.
So sweet!
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