Is the bird alive?
The young man was at the end of his training, soon he would go on to be a teacher. Like all good pupils, he needed to challenge his teacher and to develop his own way of thinking. He caught a bird, placed it in one hand and went to see his teacher.
‘Teacher, is this bird alive or dead?’
His plan was the following: if his teacher said ‘dead’, he would open his hand and the bird would fly away. If the answer was ‘alive’, he would crush the bird between his fingers; that way the teacher would be wrong whichever answer he gave.
‘Teacher, is the bird alive or dead?’ he asked again.
‘My dear student, that depends on you,’ was the teacher’s reply.
The unwanted apprentice
‘We have no doors in our monastery,’ Shanti said to the visitor, who had come in search of knowledge.
‘And what about troublesome people who come to disturb your peace?’
‘We ignore them, and they go away,’ said Shanti.
‘I am a learned man who has come in search of knowledge,’ insisted the foreigner. ‘But what do you do about stupid people? Do you just ignore them as well until they go away? Does that work?’
Shanti did not reply. The visitor repeated his question a few times, but seeing that he got no response, he decided to go and find a teacher who was more focused on what he was doing.
‘You see how well it works?’ said Shanti to himself, smiling.
The yogi and the wise fool
Nasrudin, the wise fool of Sufi tradition, passes in front of a cave, sees a yogi in deep meditation, and asks him what he is seeking.
- I am contemplating the animals, and I learn many lessons from them which can transform a man’s life – says the yogi.
- Teach me what you know. And I will teach you what I have learned, because a fish has already saved my life – answers Nasrudin.
The yogi is surprised: only a saint can have his life saved by a fish. He decides to teach everything he knows.
When he finishes, Nasrudin says:
- Now I have taught you everything, I would be proud to know how a fish saved your life.
- It is simple. I was almost dying of hunger when I caught it, and thanks to it I was able to survive three days.
Enlightenment in seven days
Buddha told his disciples: whoever makes an effort can attain enlightenment in seven days. If he can’t manage it, certainly he will attain it in seven months, or in seven years. The young man decided that he would attain it in one week, and he wanted to know what he should do: “concentration” was the reply.
The young man began to practice, but in ten minutes he was already distracted. Little by little, he began paying attention to everything that distracted him, and thought that he was not wasting time, but was getting used to himself.
One fine day he decided it was not necessary to arrive at his goal so fast, because the path was teaching him many things.
It was at that moment that he became an Enlightened one.
I needed to read this… thanks for sharing
The focus on objectives in our lives causes most of us to forget paying attention to the path needed to reach these objectives. Too often this approach is seen in international policies between countries and the mere fact that the principle of savoir-Faire and savoir-vivre end up violated as a result, much tension is regularly left behind. The same mistakes are made over and over again, and the lessons from the Path are not learnt and wisdom then hides in the Dark.
May we all be more sensitive to Wisdom and allow our hearts and souls to bathe in the warmth of enlightenment!!!!
enlightnement is an ironical journry, u arrive when u start enjoing the ride. just yestreday i completed a 40 hours train journey ( by choice, planes get u to the destination faster but they seem to skip the journey), i thouroughly enjoyed standing next to the door, enjoing the wind in my hair and on my face, the chnaging countryside, the rivers, the towns, the villages, the hills, jungles, graveyards, temples, people…., the su and the moon – it was refreshing.
savita, was zesus enligthend when he was being crucified ! did he feel pain , did he suffer ? did buddha allow tears to escape his eyes, did zesus live a passionate life ?
journey is important, because journey is all that is.
once a person develops this ability to maintain a dual awareness, of the journey and destination too, one is in the present. something like paulo’s boys in alchemist who went around the palace with spoons and oil.
now some ‘light stuff’
would it have been better had the master replied that the bird was dead, this way the disciple would have let go the bird ! proving the master wrong. a master would be more concerned about love and compassion then about his reputation !
“‘I am a learned man who has come in search of knowledge,’ insisted the foreigner.” an oxymoron – a learned man in search of knowledge, why should learned people look for knowledge, they are learned so they must alreday know, no.
buddha beacme mulla nasiruddin, he had not laughed enough when he was a buddha !
I believe that the student is not above his teacher even when the teacher makes mistakes. It is right for a good student to ask questions and for guidance when he both the student and teacher themselves are challenged by their enemies. That is the real test of strength in character for both teacher and student. Are they both willing to move together in a positive way to help the creator obtain HIS will. The Lord of all. A student is not above his teacher and everyone has a master, even the incredible old and wise understand this truth.
Lovely words,Savita…
To the last storie with the `fish`:at the age of 9 years I went with my mother to the Black Sea in Romania.
Against my mother words ,to take care to not try to go in water because I could not swim ,and the waves will trick me ,and I will be drown(she was nearly made allready that bad experience 2 times),I thaught to myself very convinced,I will do it and I will learn by seeing how the water is doing.I`v trust the water waves,and let my body to be once with it.Like that I becamed my first swim lesson,and the Water was tolding me many things since that time.
I`m thankful for all the Teacher in the world.
Love,
Mirela(the woman in elevator)
I love your story Enlightenment in seven days
A true lesson in the Art of Living
I am inspired*
Thank U
To be no more than you are,to be no less than you are,just to be that you are-means to be THE MASTER.
I always think of how silly it is to challenge the teacher. Here the teacher has spent years teaching the student, when on graduation day the student turns around and spits in his face… In my opinion it stems from the Oedipus complex, where the student has transferred the feelings of hatred for the father onto the teacher.
All of these little stories, I enjoyed very much. Each presented a scenario to which I can easily relate. But this last one was my favorite, as it made me laugh out loud. It made me realize that perhaps I am not as mistaken as I thought I was.
As mentioned in other posts, I spent several years in an Ashram, following the teachings of a certain guru. When I decided to leave from the Ashram to pursue my own path, another disciple, a very dear friend of mine, left too, for her own reasons. We set out in different directs – she, toward New York, and I, eventually, back to the place of my birth, in Texas. Over the years that have since passed, we have kept in touch and often call one another on the phone. As well as reminiscing, we also share whatever is going on in our lives now and what we are learning from that.
Whereas my path has led me toward a more eclectic and all-inclusive view of religion and spirituality, hers had led her to maintain and uphold much the same world-view as constructed by our former teachings. Often, she takes it upon herself to remind me of how important it is to “stay focused.” We are getting older, she says – time is running out, fast. We have to remember why we are here, the one true purpose of this life: to become Enlightened. We must hold this goal at the forefront of our minds, above all other concerns of this world – we must avoid getting caught up in the battles of life so that we can stay completely focused on that one aim: to become Enlightened before we die. Otherwise, we will be reincarnated and the whole struggle will start over again.
She is right in the sense that she is reciting precisely what we were both taught. But the problem with this bit of wisdom, at least for me, is that somewhere along the way I ceased to think of it as a “struggle.” I ceased to think of bodily existence – life with all of its challenges and defeats and triumphs – as a curse, as a form of “bondage” from which I need “free myself.” Somewhere along the way, and I’m not sure exactly at what point – it didn’t happen all in one day, one hour, one moment – but somewhere along the path, I actually began to find enormous joy in the battles, the ups AND the downs, the good times AND the bad. It was at that point that life (as bodily incarnation) began to take on a whole new meaning for me. It no longer seemed like something from which I needed to escape. It no longer seemed important to hurry toward some end goal – Enlightenment – to get out of here and never return.
Even when I consider the possibility of being reincarnated – and who knows into what sort of situation or condition – even the uncertainties involved in that do not seem particularly daunting. I do believe in reincarnation, and, certainly, I could be born less wealthy, less intelligent, less healthy, less fortunate in any number of ways. For that matter, I could come back as a dog, or a wolf, or even as a tree. In the traditional world-view, the perspective from which we were taught at the Ashram, this is the worst thing that could happen, because animals, unlike humans, do not have free will. Whatever conditions they are born into, they simply have to accept and suffer through. They are powerless to change their own destiny. But somehow even that does not deter me, it is not enough to make me think, “I’ve got to speed it up – I just have to reach enlightenment before I die.” I just feel like, if I come back as a wolf, I’ll be wolfish – the wolf spirit within me will sustain me and in it I shall revel and find great joy. If I am a dog, or a tree, the same: I will be what I am, and in being that fully, without reserve or regret or hesitation, I will know happiness, contentment and extreme fulfillment.
So, my friend tells me, “Stay focused. Work hard. You must make it your goal to become enlightened IN THIS LIFE.” I listen to her, and I do not contradict, as I see no point in raising an argument. Her path is her path, mine is my own. The two are different, but they need not clash.
For a long time, however, I have thought – primarily due to my previous teachings – “Perhaps she is right. Maybe I am just an utter failure at this quest called Enlightenment.” I can’t even manage to hold it solidly in my mind as a definable and desirable goal. I can’t even imagine that I am trying to reach some specified “destination” – some end, some final culmination – because, for me, I am just having so much fun getting there. The path itself is enough for me. It gives me everything that I could ever want, and more.
And the challenges, the “pain and suffering” – I even find a queer sort of joy in that. Perhaps this seems to some as a perverse sort of joy – if I were “normal,” I would wish never to feel pain or anguish, I would wish to escape from all suffering. But I do not feel as this. Therefore, the promise that is presented by the concept of “Enlightenment” – the cessation of all suffering – does very little to allure me. It is not enough to make me feel like I need to hurry to get somewhere else, somewhere beyond and removed from the trials of bodily existence.
I’m definitely not suggesting that I am enlightened, and I do hope that it doesn’t come across as that. (I am not “enlightened;” I am just like anyone else.) All I’m saying is that there is another way to experience life that negates the perceived need to escape from it, whether the promise is one of Heaven or one of Enlightenment. I’m fine right where I am, so long as I can keep my feet on this path, and keep moving forward. I like the way the dirt feels beneath my feet. The road itself, the sense of motion, is enough to make me happy. In traversing it, I am content. I don’t feel the need to look ahead longingly toward some ultimate destination: My journey in itself IS my goal. I am already there.
Thank you for those interesting stories.Were funny .Just love them.
Challenging is the game (energy investment) of the Ego (Ego is disguise for our worries about ourselves).
When the game for the moment accidentally and completely drop to null (energy surplus rise) breaks out the light (body lights). The real nature of the game becomes obviosus. This late is the state of the Enlightenment.It is the moment in which the one realizes one’s real nature (Esence)and becomes an Enlightened one (due to the lightening experience, cannot be falsified).
ouch – what harsh stories no?
Maybe all a little of the “April Fools” nature ??!
Africa has taught me indeed to walk slowly and it is really really hard!! especially since i have fast paced parents; but it is doing the world of good… i feel i am aware more of which path i am on, the people around me, my connection to/with them and most of all i feel prepared…
eg: for all the april fools around today’s corner LOL. ;o) xxx