Spiritual Stories

The Lotus And The Pond

A grey bearded old man and a young man were observing the blooming of a lotus, sitting on a shore of a silent pond, when a young man interrupted the silence.

“Master, why the meaning of life is hidden from us? We meditate trying to understand the logic of things happening around us, we see separate parts and we are aware of their interrelations. But all of our efforts appear to be vain when a new component appears, destroying all of the previous logical constructions.”

“The meaning of life,” the teacher reluctantly turned his eyes from the flower, “can only be understood by someone whose mind isn’t clouded with earthly troubles, wishes and passions. Only new-borns are close to that state. The essence of a new-born reminds a lotus, soaring on the unshakable stillness of the pond. The surface of their soul isn’t touched by the wind of aspirations, the rain of attachments, the snow of grievance, and the ice of loss. Their moistness isn’t dried by fears, malodorous bubbles of fear don’t take to the surface the slime from the bottom, their shores are empty, and the forest by the shore doesn’t defile the child’s clean water with fallen leaves, branches and needles. And later the World appears, with all of its meaningless worldliness. On the shores of the pond an impenetrable thicket of teachers grows up, mentors, friends, enemies, lovers, children, relatives. Constantly, the surface of the water becomes inseparable from the thick garbage on the shore. Every word, every moral, every kiss, every punch or kindness, every our influence disturbs the untouched soul of a child, making him to grow up and go further and further from the understanding of the meaning of life.”

“But we can’t get rid of all of this,” the student shouted out heatedly. “We are people! Our life consists of the course of these actions, this coil, the boiling of these passions and wishes! Or are you asking people to become ferns?!!”

“You’ve understood everything right, my boy,” a light smile touched the lips of the old man. “You want to search for the meaning of life? Search for it. But to do that, you will need to refuse every carnal wish, attachment and feeling, become the grass, the fern, go live in the temple, become a hermit, rip all of the ties that join you with worldly troubles and passions, and then, possibly, you will be able to go back to the beginning. But what all of this is for? Is the search worth it? Ask yourself this question and if the answer will be negative, remain the person between the people.”

The teacher turned his eyes towards the lotus again and finished, “And about the meaning of life you will always be able to talk with friends, while sitting in the shade of your home terrace, listening to the cheerful laughter of children, and drinking green aroma tea, that your loving wife brings you.”

Five wise men

Five wise men got lost in the forest.
The first one said:
– I will go the left – my intuition tells me that.
The second one said:
– I will go the right – because “the right” comes from the word “rightness”.
The third one said:
– I will go back – we came from there, it means I will go out from the forest.
The fourth one said:
– I will go straight – we should move forward, the forest will end and something new will open.
The fifth said:
– You are all wrong. There is a better solution. Wait for me.
He found the tallest tree and climbed into it. While he was climbing everyone else scattered towards their own sides. From above he saw where they should go to leave the forest faster. Now he could even see in what order the other wise men will reach the end of the forest. He climbed higher and saw the shortest way. He understood the problem and found the best solution! He knew that he did everything right. And the others were wrong. They were stubborn and they didn’t listen to him. He was the real Wise Man!
But he was wrong.
Everyone was right. The one who went to the left, found himself in the thicket. He had to starve and fight with wild animals. But he learned how to survive in the forest; he became a part of the forest and could teach others the same.
The one, who went to the right, met thieves. They took everything from him and made him steal with them. But after some time, he had woken up something in those thieves that they have forgotten – humanity and compassion. The remorse was so strong in some of them, that after his death they also became the wise men.
The one, who went back, made a pathway through the forest, which soon became a road for those who wanted to walk in the forest without being afraid of getting lost.
The one, who went straight, became a pioneer. He visited the places where no one else was and opened wonderful new possibilities for people, amazing healing plants and magnificent animals.
The one, who climbed into the tree, became a specialist of finding short ways. People turned to him when they wanted to find the fastest way to deal with their problems, even if it didn’t lead to any development.
This is how the five wise men reached their destiny.

Once a student came to a wise sage and asked

Once a student came to a wise sage and asked:

— What else do people lack to make the world better?

— They lack things that they do not ask about, — he answered. And, seeing the perplexity of a person who asked the question, explained:

— What people ask God for? Happiness, wealth, love, even talent – for the sake of success and fame. But did you hear that someone asked to make him smarter or kinder?

The student thought and shook his head.

— That‘s it! — The sage said regretfully. — Everyone consider himself sufficiently intelligent and kind, willing himself entirely different. And so the world does not become any smarter and kinder.

Leaving, the student repeated himself: “Good mind – that‘s what people do not think to ask for that the world would become better.”

But the thought to start from himself did not occur to him.

The sage, after travelling a half of his life

The sage, after travelling a half of his life and being an advisor of the king, has retired and prayed, preparing to stand before God. But still he communicated with students, who were allowed to ask him the trickiest questions.
So, he was asked:
— Why the Creator does not let people make a paradise on the earth during their lifetime?
— If they could, they would do it, — was his answer.
But his student continued asking:
— It comes so that people cannot be better? But it‘s all in God‘s hands, isn‘t it? And he wishes his children to joy him. How it can be?
The sage looked at him, smiled and asked:
— Do you want to say that God can do nothing with us and ask to give him an advice?
The student bowed his head silently.
The sage said:
— Isn’t it better to start from your own? Do not think about people too much, remember about yourself. Everyone will have to answer for his own.

One day a young man asked his Master, “I fear death. How can I get rid of this fear?”

One day a young man asked his Master, “I fear death. How can I get rid of this fear?”

“Tell me,” the old man answered, “When you borrow a few coins, are you afraid to give them later back?”

“Of course not,” the student answered with surprise, “but what does this have to do with my fear?”

The teacher picked up a small piece of soil from the ground and continued, “You have received your body in debt with required return. And every bite of bread eaten by you, every sip of water drank by you increases that debt. You are made from dust on which you walk and the ground is your main creditor, constantly reminding you of this debt. It is pulling you down towards it. In the end, the ground will swallow you whole, without any remains.”

The old man threw the soil into the air, after attaining its fall, he finished, “No matter how high you rise, how long you are in the flight, you will still need to fall down. That is given. And to cope with the fear of this fall is very easy – stop thinking about yourself as the master of your body. Face the thought that you are just a tenant. And because you don’t know the length of your rent, remember that it can end at any second. We are all debtors, and our debts will certainly be recovered, no matter if we are afraid of it or not. So is there a point of being afraid?”

A young man was looking for a wise man who could

A young man was looking for a wise man who could help to find answers to his question about life and God. He met lots of people, but neither of them could answer him. One day, he met a Muslim scientist and asked him these questions:
The first question was: Is there God? And if there is, show me his outlines.
The second one: What is destiny?
And the third one: If Devil is made from fire and he is placed in hell where everything is made from fire, he won’t feel pain, will he?
Suddenly, the scientist slapped him in the face. The young man was confused by this action and asked:
– Why did you get mad at me?
Scientist answered:
– I didn’t get mad; it was the answer to your question!
– How is it so?
– What did you feel when I hit you in the face?
– I felt pain, of course!
– That means you believe that pain exists?
– Yes!
– Then show me its outline?
– I can’t!
– It’s the answer to your first question. Tell me now, did you see yesterday in your dream that I would slap you in the face?
– No.
– Did you ever think that you will be slapped by me today?
– No.
– That’s destiny. What is covering my hand that hit you in the face?
– Skin.
– And your face?
– Skin.
– Did you feel pain?
– Yes, very much!
– It’s the answer to your third question.

A university professor asked his students a question

A university professor asked his students a question:

– Does everything that exist was created by God?

One student answered bravely:

– Yes, created by God.

– Did God create everything? – asked the professor.

– Yes, Sir, – the student answered.

Professor said:

– If God created everything, that means that God created evil, because it exists. And according to this principal, the things we do determine who we are, that means – God is evil.

The student got quiet after hearing that answer. Professor was very happy with himself. He boasted to the students, that he proved once again that God is a myth.

Another student raised his hand and said:

– Can I ask you a question, professor?

– Of course, – professor answered.

The student got up and asked:

– Professor, does cold exist?

– Of course it exists. Didn’t you ever get cold?

Students laughed at the question of the young man. The young man answered:

– Actually, Sir, cold doesn’t exist. According to the laws of physics, what we consider to be cold truthfully is the absence of heat. You can study a person or a thing according to its ability to transfer energy. An absolute zero (-460 degrees according to Fahrenheit) is a complete absence of heat. The whole substance becomes inert and unable to react in that temperature. Cold doesn’t exist. We created that word to describe what we feel at the absence of heat.

The student continued:

– Professor, does the darkness exist?

– Of course it exists.

– You are wrong again, Sir. The darkness also doesn’t exist. Darkness is actually the absence of light. We can study the light, but not the darkness. We can use the prism of Newton to expand the white light into many colours and study the different lengths of the waves of each colour. You can’t measure the darkness. A simple ray of light can burst into the world of darkness and light it up. How can you find out, how dark is some kind of a space? You measure the quantity of light submitted. Isn’t it? Darkness is an understanding which people use to describe something that happens in the absence of light.

Finally, the young man asked the professor:

– Sir, does evil exist?

The professor timidly answered:

– Of course, as I have already said. We see it every day. Cruelty among the people, lots of crimes and violence around the world. These examples are nothing other than the manifestations of evil.

The student answered to this:

– Evil doesn’t exist, Sir, at least, it doesn’t exist for itself. Evil – is just an absence of God. It is similar to darkness and cold, created by people, to describe the absence of God. God didn’t create evil. Evil is not the faith or love, which exists like light and heat. Evil – is the result of absence of Godly love in a human heart. It’s like the cold, which comes when there is no heat, or like the darkness, which comes when there is no light.

These words left the professor speechless.

 

One man complained that his life is

One man complained that his life is too hard for him. He came to God, told him about his troubles, and asked:
– Can I choose another cross for myself?
God looked at him smiling, took him to the store of crosses and said:
– Choose…
A man came into the store, looked around, and was surprised: There is such a great variety of crosses – little, big, medium, heavy and light.
A man was walking by the store for a long time looking for the littlest and lightest cross and finally found it, then came to God and asked:
– May I take this one?
– Yes, you may, – answered God. – It is your own cross.

Someone asked a wise man Ho: – Is it worth praying?

Someone asked a wise man Ho:

– Is it worth praying?

The wise man answered:

– Do not ask such questions. You pray, when there is nothing else left. But if you do pray, it should not be when you need something. You should try doing it on your own. And after that it is worth helping God by taking some burden off him.

– And what is the best way to pray? What words to use? – The person said.

– I think, it is better to pray from the bottom of your heart, it will tell you the words, – Ho answered, – But can I ask you something?

The person got surprised but didn’t object.

– Why people ask: Is it necessary to pray and how?, but no one asks: About whom?.

– Strange, – even more surprised the person said, – it is obvious that about themselves or about their closest people. And you, about whom do you pray?

Ho looked at him and said:

– Really, it seems strange. Many years ago I knew a monk. He prayed to Almighty about the Almighty, to support him. He did not hide it, but he was considered a madman- even among his fellows. He told me: “Everyone else prays to him about themselves, but who will ask the same about him?” The person was confused. He looked at the wise man not daring to utter anything.

– I do not know if that monk is still alive, that is why I use his prayer, – Ho explained.

The person didn’t ask anything else.

Someone asked a wise man

Someone asked a wise man:
– It is said that everyone’s destiny is determined.
The wise man nodded:
– Yes. For those who believe in it. If they think so, they believe that the circumstances of life are inevitable, consciously submitting to them and to those who created them. But there are people who do not believe in predestination, preferring to be the predestination of others.
The one who asked grunted sceptically:
– And how would then God know everything beforehand if there was no predestination? – And triumphantly looked at the wise man.
He simply raised his hands:
– I don’t know about God… He did not instruct me to answer on his behalf. But if I were him, I would be extremely bored knowing everything beforehand; it would be the same as you would be playing giveaway with yourself. I would most likely come up with a game, that would entertain me endlessly, and I would never know what the next move will be.

One day an old Soul Wound decided

One day an old Soul Wound decided to destroy her host. She came to him in a dream and said:
– Look at yourself and around you. How do you live? After all, you have only problems- inside and outside.
– So what, – the host answered, – but I have a wonderful woman. I love her and she loves me.
– But what can you offer her, except your own problems? She will leave you soon, – The Soul Wound said.
– No she won’t! – The man said, – after all, she loves me.
– Think about it – is it possible to love you? You are a loser! – The Soul Wound exclaimed.
– That is the thing! If I wouldn’t have any problems – inside and outside, I would have some doubts about her being with me. But now I’m sure about her sincerity.
– Ok, then think: if she is so wonderful, do you deserve her? Doesn’t she deserve a better life, than with you – mentally wounded loser with lots of problems?
After waking up from his own tears, the man called his loved one and told her that he doesn’t deserve her love, and he is leaving her forever. But the pain was so big that he couldn’t survive the brake up.
In heaven, an angel met the arriving soul and escorted him straight to the gates of hell.
Unhappy and amazed he asked:
– How come you have brought me here? After all, I committed the biggest sacrifice for love!
The angel turned to him and answered:
– The soul wounds serve only to Devil. You will stay with the one that you have listened to.

One evening I was going back from a supermarket

One evening I was going back from a supermarket. As I have approached my car, I noticed that some person came and stood beside me. He was the one that could be considered as a bum. It seemed that he had no car, no home and no job. I expected that he will ask me for money, but he did not do that, he only said: „Your car is very nice“.

After several moments of silence I have replied: „Thanks“, and then the inner voice told me: „Ask him if he needs help“. After a short hesitation I have asked him, if he needs any help. His respond was astonishing, I will never forget those simple three words that I heard from him: „Don‘t we all?”

It was a true discovery to me. I needed help. Although I had money and a place to sleep, but I recognized that I needed help too. Then I have opened my wallet and gave him enough money to get a meal and some shelter for a day.

Suddenly I understood that no matter how much money, achievements, luxury things do we have, we all need help. And on the other hand, no matter how poor you are, how many material problems you have, you still might offer your help to others, you still might be giving. Even it‘s just a nice word, you can give that and it can be priceless to other person.

Maybe that man was just a homeless stranger, but to me he was more than that. Maybe he was sent by the Highest Loving Power personally to me, to open my eyes, to show me that there is one thing, among all other values and achievements, which is very important and irreplaceable for each and every person. Actually, it is a true gift and it is called Giving.

One day, while I was walking in the park, I noticed a little girl

One day, while I was walking in the park, I noticed a little girl. Barefoot and dirty, she was watching all the people indifferently going by. She was silent and did not say a word. Everybody just passed by and did not pay any attention to her.

The very next day I decided to go back to that park and clear up if the girl was still there. She was right there in the same spot as yesterday, sadly looking around. I felt that I am worried about her, as a park full of strangers is not a good place for small kids to play alone.

I started approaching her and suddenly noticed that the girl‘s back was oddly deformed. A thought crossed my mind that maybe this was the reason why everyone was avoiding her and did not try to help. I got closer and smiled to let her know that I was there to talk, to help. I started with “Hello” and then sat down near her. The girl was very surprised, however, after a long stare into my eyes, she replied „Hi“.

We talked and talked, so many hours passed by and darkness came. The park became silent and empty. Then I carefully asked the little girl, why she was so sorrowful and lonesome. „I am different, that‘s why” – was her reply. I agreed with her and smiled „Yes, you are“, and then I continued „you remind of an angel, pure and sweet“. She slowly got to her feet and smiled „Really?” I confirmed that she looks to me like a little Guardian Angel to watch all the people going by. To my surprise, she nodded her head and admitted „I am, I am your Guardian Angel“, then she spread her wings. I was so amazed, that I couldn‘t say a word. After a moment she explained „Think of someone other than yourself – that was the purpose of my job here“.

Then I got to my feet and asked „Why nobody stopped to help you?”
„Because only you could see me“, was her answer and then she was gone.

The Creator created people, gave them words

The Creator created people, gave them words for communication and thinking, settled them in the fertile valley at the foot of the mountains, gave them longevity and started to observe, how they will aspire to the development.
The time has passed, but people did not develop.
They did not go beyond their village and did not climb up the mountains. Their eyes did not look at the sky and did not look in the Heart.
So they became old.
The Creator decided to find out, what was the matter.
He became a man and came to them as a traveller. Before sunset people gathered at the square to talk with the traveller.
He described them a life beyond the horizon and suggested:
– Do you want me to lead you there, and you will see how people live in these places?
— Oh, — they answered sadly, – it is late, we became old …
– Then come with me to the mountains to look at the world from the top!
— Oh, — they suspired, — it is too late, we have no energy …
— Look at the sky, — the traveller said them, — and I will tell you about the life in the Kingdom of Heaven!
They answered again:
— It is late; our mind will not understand your story …
The traveller became sad. He decided to cheer people.
— Let‘s sing a song! — he said and was going to sing first, but people noticed that the sun went down.
— It is late, — they said, — it is time to sleep… — and went to their huts. The traveller shouted them:
— People, when life is continuous and infinite, it is not late for any achievements!
But they did not turn back. Then the Creator told himself:
— I will take away all words of limitation from people: „late“, „not“, „impossible“, „far“, „high“, „hard“, „will not understand“, and will place in their hearts the joy of infinity. Maybe they will perceive my Law: nothing is late, because there is no end, there is only the beginning! He did so and waited for the morning: will people change and will they go with him to the mountains?

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