Life upon earth is mysterious, with multitudes of variety of experiences and possibilities. Though everybody has the same kind of sense organs, no two explanations ever match. A pious gentleman once told me that he saw a yogi the other day. The pedestrian who was sprayed with a shower of mud from a racing vehicle, should necessarily be a yogi, he said. His logic was that the man did not even turn back and so he should be a fully equanimous soul. Maybe it’s true, there could be many yogis around us, living unidentified.
The level of one’s growth is determined by how one responds to varying situations and how he evaluates things and people. That’s why social media profiles and posts pages of every candidate are scrutinised before serious interviews.
Once a visitor came to a Jain monk. He could see no furniture in his room. He asked the monk where his furniture was.
“Where is yours?” asked the monk.
“I’m on a journey,” replied the tourist.
“I too am on a long journey!” said the monk.
I don’t think that the tourist would have learned anything from this monk. He was not trained to follow his language.
Instead, a Zen Buddhist need not hear this much to get enlightened. Once a Zen Buddhist ashramite was passing by a butcher shop. He heard a customer asking for a good cut. The butcher there replied to him by saying all cuts here are good. It is said that at this reply the ashramite got enlightened.
One another time, a thief snatched away the hand bowl of a monk. The monk ran after the thief. A villager was watching all these. He told the monk that it was no use running after him, who already has turned to a narrow lane and has escaped. The monk told him that he was not going to get him now but was running to the palace where he was sure to come. “Where’s it?” “Don’t you know that there is only one crematorium in this village? It is to that place I am running.” The villager also would not have understood what the monk said.
“Lead kindly light …”
Many times, I have heard and chanted this prayer. It is only very lately that I could understand that light is very crucial in our growth. We need better light to better understanding. I have some hints on the right light which we truly need. Also, I have understood that it is foolish to change track without proper light to help.
Keep rowing … it’s the only way out. One day we may see something green at the horizon. It definitely changes all that were. And it is better to be ashore a little slow!
