Once, a king wanted to know the answers to the three questions, ‘What are the most important time, important people and important thing to do?’ The king visited a monk to seek the answers. The monk was busy digging the ground and ignored his questions. The king took the spade from the monk and started […]
A wise monk had many students. They all lived in the monk’s house and spent their time learning together. One day, the monk was going into the forest for his meditation. Just then, he overheard two students who were arguing about a flag flapping in the wind. “It is the wind that is really moving,”
Long ago, in the time of the Buddha, people were very curious to know about him. They wondered if he was a god or a special human. Then, one day, they decided to ask the Buddha himself. So, several men collected together and asked the Buddha, “Are you a god?” The Buddha replied, “No.” “Are
Once, a monk was travelling with his student. The monk became thirsty and told his student, “Please get me some water from the lake there.” The student went to the lake. He saw a bullock cart crossing the lake, making the water muddy. He told the monk, “The water in the lake is very muddy.
Once, a student was caught stealing in an ashram by his fellow students. They reported him to the monk. Surprisingly, the monk took no action. A few days later, the same boy was again caught stealing. Again, the monk did nothing. The other students became very angry. They wanted the boy who committed the theft
South of Savatthi was a great river, on the banks of which a small settlement of about five hundred houses was located. One day, the Buddha sat down under a tree, and began to preach to the villagers. When he had left Savatthi, Sariputta, one of the Buddha’s disciples, felt a desire to hear him
Once, two monks were washing their bowls in the river. Just then, they noticed a scorpion drowning in the river. A monk carefully took the scorpion up in his hands and set it upon the bank. In the process, he was stung. The monk had to stay in bed for some days because of the
Once, a kingdom was attacked by the enemy’s army. On their way to the battlefield, the king and his army stopped at a monk’s hut. The king said, “O revered man! My army goes into the battlefield with fear and doubt (asankati). Please help us.” The monk took out a coin and said, “I shall
Once, a young archer whose brain was clouded with mana (pride) challenged an archery teacher. The young archer hit a distant bull’s eye. He then split that arrow with his second shot. The young archer then turned to the teacher and asked, “Can you match this?” The teacher did not speak but took the young
Once, a poor man was wandering in a forest. The tired man decided to rest against a tree. The tree was a Bodhisattva in its previous birth. And now it was a magical tree. As the man sat, he thought of searching for drinking water. Magically, a cup of cool water appeared in his hand!
Once, a traveller reached a river on hi journey. He thought, ‘In order to continue with my journey, I have to somehow cross this river.’ However, there was neither a bridge nor a boat to cross it. The traveller had an idea and built a raft with grass and twigs. He used the raft to
A monk lived a simple life in a small hut. One night, when the monk was in the forest, a thief entered the hut. However, he found nothing to steal. Just then, the monk returned. “I am sure you have come a long way to visit my humble hut,” he said to the thief, “I
Once a student went to a monk and said, “I am devoted to studying the art of meditation. How long will it take me to master it?” The monk casually replied, “Ten years.” The student became impatient. He said, “That is very long. I want to master it sooner than that. I will work very
A stonecutter was very unhappy with his life. One day, he saw a monk and thought, ‘I wish I were a monk.’ Lo! Magically, the stonecutter became a monk. He started to preach people but he had to live in the forest. One day, the monk looked towards the sun and thought, ‘I wish I
One evening, a warrior was resting in his tent. The warrior had to fight in a battle the next morning. He found it very difficult to fall asleep, as he was worried. He knew that the enemy was very strong and feared that he would be defeated. Troubled, the warrior got up and went to