A ruthless Chinese general in Tibet would mercilessly kill all
the Buddhist monks and destroy their places of worship. All the monks would flee when they heard he was coming. One day he arrived at the gates of a well-known monastery. The general was pleased to hear that all the monks had fled. However, an officer reported to him that in the inner courtyard there remained one solitary monk. He strode off into the cloister and went right up to the monk who was sitting there peacefully and meditating. “Don’t you know who I am?” shouted the general. “Without blinking an eye, I can run you right through with my sword”. The monk gently, but firmly responded: “Don’t you know who I am? Without blinking an eye, I can let you run me through with that sword”.
Nothing, not even the fiercest sword, can frighten us or destroy our inner peace if we discover and recognise the presence of God in us. Our inner strength comes not from the swords and guns, but from the power of God who resides in us. We can withstand and endure the persecutions of any sort if we trust in Him who is the source of life.
