#illuminatedbookofwisdom

[thewisdomstories]

A Zen Tale

[thewisdomstories]

When he was asked which was the right way, the path of sorrow or the path of joy, the rabbi of Berdichev said: “There are two kinds of sorrow and two kinds of joy. When a person broods over the misfortunes that have come upon him, when he cowers in a corner and despairs of help—that is a bad kind of sorrow, concerning which it is said, “The Divine Presence does not dwell in a place of dejection.” The other kind is the honest grief of a person who knows what he lacks. The same is true of joy. He who is devoid of inner substance and, in the midst of empty pleasures, does not feel it, nor tries to fill his lack, is a fool. But he who is truly joyful is like a person whose house has burned down, who feels his need deep in his soul and begins to build anew. Over every stone that is laid, his heart rejoices.”

[thewisdomstories]

The Buddha in his travels encountered a Jain, whose practice consisted of standing still on one leg. The Buddha asked him, `Would you tell me please why you are doing this? What will this practice of standing on one leg do for you?' The Jain replied, `Through this practice, I am working out my karma. It will free me of all past karma.' The Buddha asked him, `How much have you worked out so far?' The Jain replied, `I could not say.' The Buddha then asked, `How much karma do you still have to work out?' The Jain again replied, `I do not know.' Lastly, the Buddha asked, `But how will you know when you have finished working out your karma?' The Jain could only answer again, `This I do not know.'

At this reply, the Buddha spoke to him saying, `It is time for you to set aside this practice and to understand the path to the end of suffering. It lies within the truth of each moment, here and now."

Traditional Buddhist

From "Stories of the Spirit, Stories of the Heart" by Christina Feldman and Jack Kornfield.

[thewisdomstories]

Buddha decided to teach Monkey King a lesson. Buddha made a wager with Monkey, betting him that he could not jump out of Buddha's hand. If Monkey King won the bet, he would get the Jade Emperor's job. If he lost, he would be banished to Earth for centuries to learn humility. Monkey agreed to the bet. He immediately flew through the clouds at a terrific speed to the end of the universe, where he saw five pink pillars. These he took to be the end of the world. On the middle pillar he wrote "The Great Sage Equal of Heaven reached this place", to prove beyond any doubt he had reached this spot. To drive home the point, he also peed at the base of the first pillar. Then he returned to the Buddha, and told him of his accomplishment. To Monkey’s shock, the Buddha informed him he had never left Buddha's hand after all. To prove it, Buddha showed Monkey the writing on his middle finger. Then he made Monkey smell the bottom of his smallest finger and smell his own urine. Monkey tried to renege on the bet, but before he could escape, Buddha pushed him out of the Gate of Heaven. Buddha then changed his five fingers into the five elements –metal, wood, water, fire and earth. These became a five-peaked mountain, and under it Monkey was trapped, leaving only his head and hands exposed. Monkey King was obliged to remain trapped under the mountain for 500 years to learn humility. Buddhist