Month: November 2015

Androcles and the Lion

On By MaryIn Choices we makeLeave a comment

Sometimes stories that are kind of old and maybe feeling a little worn out are still worth dusting off and looking over one more time – maybe even a couple more times. This story reminds me of the Eleanor Roosevelt quote that we should do at least one thing that frightens us every day. It also reminds me of the Good Samaritan Story (but that is a story for another day). And it also reminds me of the practice of paying it forward. But then it is really just a story about being kind. Or is it?

Once upon a time, it a land all too near to us, there was a slave named Androcles. One day Androcles managed to escape from his master. After Androcles made his way outside the master’s compound he fled into the forest. As he was wandering among the trees looking for a safe place to make a home for himself, he came upon a Lion who was lying under a lotus tree moaning and groaning.

When Androcles saw the lion he was about as scared as he had ever been. At first he turned to run for his life, but he notice that the Lion was not moving to chase him, so he turned back and went a little closer to the lion. When Androcles got closer the Lion put out his paw, which was all swollen and bleeding, and Androcles found that a huge thorn had got into it, and was causing the lion’s foot to swell and become so painful. Androcles took a deep breath, moved closer to the lion and ever so carefully, ever so gently he pulled out the thorn and bound up the lion’s paw.  After a day or so the lion was able to walk on his paw again, and he then licked Androcles’ hand of Androcles like a dog. Then the Lion took Androcles to his cave which they then shared.  When the lion had a successful hunt he would bring some of the meat back to the cave for Androcles to cook for himself.

But as we all know, life has both hills and valleys and all too soon the master’s soldiers found Androcles and they captured both him and the lion.

The master was angry with Androcles for escaping, and he wanted to make an example of him to the other slaves so that they would not attempt escaping, so Androcles was sentenced to be thrown into a pit with the lion, after the lion had been kept without food for several days. The master and all his court and all of the slave came to see the spectacle.

Androcles was led out into the middle of the arena. The hungry lion was let loose from his den, and rushed bounding and roaring towards his soon to be meal. But as soon as the lion came near to Androcles he recognized his friend, and fawned upon him, and licked his hands like a friendly dog. The master was stunned and ordered that Androcles be brought to him. Androcles told the master the whole story. The master’s heart softened when he heard about the relationship that had grown between his slave and the lion.  As he thought about Androcles act of bravery and kindness, and the lion’s response of appreciation, the master gave Androcles and the lion their freedom. Both of them were returned to the forest to live their lives in peace.

 

On Giving Thanks for Being a Guest House

On By MaryIn GratitudeLeave a comment

Thanksgiving is nearly upon us, so I’m of a mind to be thinking about all of the people, opportunities and things for which I am grateful. It is a very long list. And as I think about this bounty, I find my Catholic roots tugging at my awareness – in the back of my mind is this little voice that says, “don’t let yourself get too happy, you know it can’t last, you know it won’t last.”  There was a time when I would have caved into that indictment and would have felt guilty for venturing out into the waters of happiness. These days I’m letting myself bask in the bounty and appreciating the moments while the sun shines. Sure clouds will come, but all the more reason to enjoy and appreciate the sun while is shines.

So, as I was thinking about all of this, I tumbled across Rumi’s poem, ‘the guest house’ … I hope you enjoy it as much as I do . . .

The Guest House

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
As an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

— Jallaludin Rumi,
translation by Coleman Barks

And, of course you MUST remember that this poem was written by Rumi, so the welcome he proffers is for all who come to our door, regardless of his or her race, religion, national origin, sex, gender, ability or any of that!  And, yes, Rumi was born and lived in 13th century Persia, the country we now call Iran. And yes he was a practicing Sufi which many people understand as a mystical branch of Islam. Ah, Rumi . . . you call us to honor the best that we are. Today I am thankful for you!

The Story of Two Peaches and Three Warriors

On By MaryIn wisdomLeave a comment

Sunday morning I was thinking about a blog, and wanted to find something on wisdom and peace, particularly after the terrorist attacks on Paris. I must have been thinking about something else because I typed ‘peach’ into the search box instead of ‘peace.’  I found this story from China that still has me thinking, so of course I had to share it with you.

Once upon a time in the province of Qi, there were three brave warriors: Gongsun Jie, Tian Kaijiang and Gu Yezi. They were arrogant and overbearing in the court. The royal ministers found them hard to get along with and Duke Jing was increasingly irritated by their rudeness. When Prime Minister Yan Ying greeted them, they did not bother to acknowledge him. Yan Ying decided it was time to get rid of them.

“Jing,” the Prime Minister said, “those three warriors are getting too proud of themselves. They should be respectful of their ruler and other officials, but their behavior is setting a bad example to their juniors. Such soldiers cannot be relied on to fight for the country. Sooner or later, they’ll get out of control.”

“But what can we do? They are strong and skilled in fighting. You have no way to get rid of them. Shoot, you will miss. Fight, you will lose.” Jing replied.

But the Prime Minister said “They’ve only got physical strength. That’s all.”

One day some time later, Duke Zhao, of Lu Province visited the Royal Court of Qi. Duke Jing gave a banquet in his honor. After the main course, peaches were served. Peaches were a rare delicacy in Qi and there were only five on the table. One went to Duke Zhao of Lu, one to Duke Jing who gave the third one to Prime Minister Yan Ying.  The Prime Minister quietly asked Duke Jing let him decide who among the three warriors, who were also attending the banquet, would get the remaining two peaches. The Duke agreed, suspecting that his Prime Minister had something beyond peaches on his mind.

The Prime Minister stood and said, “I will give a peach to one of you who has the greatest merits,” Prime Minister Yan Ying said, as he looked at the three brave men. “Please tell me who deserves it.”

“I deserve it,” said Gongsun Jie. “I saved the Duke’s life when he was attacked by a boar during hunting.”

Prime Minister Yan Ying promptly awarded him a peach along with a glass of wine.

Gu Yezi the second warrior then rose to his feet. “I am also entitled to one. Once I escorted the Duke crossing a river. Suddenly a giant turtle sprang from under the water. Our boat was almost capsized. I jumped into the water, fought the animal and killed it. I nearly got drowned saving the duke’s life.”

Prime Minister Yan Ying nodded and awarded him the second of the two remaining peachs and a glass of wine.

Then the last one of the three warriors, Tian Kaijiang, stood up. “I saved the Duke’s life twice with my sword when he was attacked by the enemy in battle. Do you remember?”

“Yes, indeed I do remember,” said Prime Minister Yan Ying. “Your merits certainly are superior to the others, but you spoke too late. I can only offer you some wine now. But you’ll be awarded a peach next year.”

Tian Kaijiang was enraged. “Killing a boar or a giant turtle is fine.  But I fought the enemy to save the Duke. Now I am denied even have a peach, I’ll be a laughing stock.”  So he drew out his sword and killed himself.

Gu Yezi was stunned. “I’m not as good as Tian Kaijiang. Now he is dead because I took the peach that really belongs to him. I hate myself. I would be a coward not to die.” And saying this, he fell on his own sword.

Gongsun Jie looked on in consternation. “The three of us are always together. Now two are dead, what face have I got to live on?” So he, too, cut his own throat.

And with that, Qi, the Prime Minister and the Duke were free from the troubles of the three rude warriors.

 

While I am not enthralled with the idea of tricking three guys into killing themselves, the story did get me to thinking about the importance of understanding others – both adversaries and friends. And, it got me to thinking about the importance of not being too predictable!  And then, there is this proverb from China:

To fight a hundred battles and win a hundred is not supreme excellence; what would be more supreme is breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.

 

So  . . . keep on thinking my friends!

 

From http://history.cultural-china.com/Wise/wise66.html

How the tiger got his stripes

On By MaryIn wisdomLeave a comment

So the other day I was hankering for a wisdom story that included elephants. After surfing around the web a bit, I came across this story at Buddhapadipa.  Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Once upon a time, in a jungle just around the corner, there lived a furious tiger; he was very proud of himself because he was never defeated. One day he went hunting for food and saw the elephant. He thought, “I am going to eat this elephant”, and he went straight to the elephant. The elephant knew that danger was near, but it was too late to escape, so he calmed down and prepared for the danger. When the tiger approached him, he said, “Hi, tiger where are you going?” The tiger said directly, “I am coming to eat you”. The elephant thought for a while and replied, “Hold on a second, friend, you cannot eat me. Don’t you know I belong to a human being, I am a slave to him”. The tiger said, “I don’t believe you. You are so much bigger than the human. Who dares to do that, in this area, except myself”. “Friend, you would not believe it, friends of mine were chained and forced to work. You have to believe me”, the elephant insisted. The tiger wondered why the humans were so powerful, even though they had no sabre tooth, no claws, only two hands and two legs, so he questioned the elephant more, “What really does make humans so powerful?”

The elephant said, “Yes, right, they don’t have sabre teeth and claws, but they have wisdom”. When the tiger heard of wisdom, which he had never known before, he asked the elephant, furiously, “What does the wisdom of the human look like? If I see wisdom, I will eat it”. The elephant tried to explain that the wisdom was in the human, but the tiger still had no idea. So the elephant said, “You have to go and see for yourself, so that you can understand”. The tiger commanded the elephant to find some human for him. The elephant could not deny him, so they went together. At a certain point, they saw a man walking in the forest with a trap. The tiger said to the elephant, “I am going to eat him”, and then started to attack him, but because of his doubt, he halted and thought, “Why is it so easy to catch him. It is totally different from what the elephant said”. Then he asked the man, “Where is your wisdom?”

When the man heard that, he said, “Hold on Tiger, don’t eat me, I’ll show you my wisdom”. The tiger released him and asked, “Where is it, show me, before you are eaten by me”. “Ok, I am going to show you, but, you know, my wisdom is very frightening to all the animals. I am not sure that when I show you, you will dare to stay to see it or not”. The tiger said with pride that he had never been frightened or defeated, “What can I do so that I can see your wisdom?” The man offered a suggestion, “It is easy. You just let me tie you to the tree and then I’ll show you”. “That is fine, let’s do it then and show me”, the tiger said. And then the man tied the tiger to the tree, firmly, and grabbed the whip and hit the tiger, saying, “This is my wisdom, fool tiger”. The tiger cried, and tried to escape, but he could not. He was hit and his body was striped in the places where the whip hit him (it is a belief, until now, that this is why a tiger is striped). At the same time, the elephant witnessed all the event that had happened, so he laughed at the tiger who was proud of himself and despised the others. Because of human wisdom, he not only survived, but also the man did. He laughed so much that his eyes became very small (this is why the elephant has such small eyes, until now.) When the tiger escaped from the tree, he went for help. But no animals helped him, because he had once bullied them, or killed their friends, or a member of their family. Soon he could not stand the pain, and died.

The moral of this story is: don’t despise others and think that no one can beat us, don’t live a careless life.

http://www.buddhapadipa.org/dhamma-corner/wisdom/

On not doing everything, but for sure doing some thing

On By MaryIn AdviseLeave a comment

The other day I was cleaning out some files and came across a page with this quote from Thomas Merton.  It so reminded me of why I fell in love with his writing, I thought I would share it with you all.  I hope it give you pause to think for a moment or two the way it did (and still does) for me.

The rush and pressure of modern life are a form, perhaps the most common form, it its innate violence. To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit oneself to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything is to succumb to violence. More than that, it is cooperation in violence. The frenzy of the activist neutralizes his work for peace. It destroys his own inner capacity for peace. It destroys the fruitfulness of his own work, because it kills the root of inner wisdom which makes work fruitful.

From Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander, by Thomas Merton (Doubleday & Company. Garden City, NY, 1968, p. 86