Bad Habits

A wealthy man requested an old scholar to wean his son away from his bad habits. The scholar took the youth for a stroll through a garden. Stopping suddenly he asked the boy to pull out a tiny plant growing there.

The youth held the plant between his thumb and forefinger and pulled it out. The old man then asked him to pull out a slightly bigger plant. The youth pulled hard and the plant came out, roots and all.

“Now pull out that one,” said the old man pointing to a bush. The boy had to use all his strength to pull it out.

“Now take this one out,” said the old man, indicating a guava tree. The youth grasped the trunk and tried to pull it out. But it would not budge. “It’s impossible,” said the boy, panting with the effort.

“So it is with bad habits,” said the sage. “When they are young it is easy to pull them out but when they take hold they cannot be uprooted.”
The session with the old man changed the boy’s life.

Don’t wait for Bad Habits to grow in you, drop them while you have control over it else they will get control you.

Fear

"I am fear. I am the menace that lurks in the path of life, never visible to the eye but sharply felt in the heart. I am the father of despair, the brother of procrastination, the enemy of progress, the tool of tyranny. Born of ignorance and nursed on misguided thought, I have darkened more hopes, stifled more ambitions, shattered more ideals and prevented more accomplishments than history could ever record.

"Like the changing chameleon, I assume many disguises. I masquerade as caution. I am sometimes known as doubt or worry. But whatever I'm called, am still fear, the obstacle of achievement.

"I know no master but one. It's name is understanding. I have no power but what the human mind gives me, and I vanish completely when the light of understanding reveals the facts as they really are, for I am really nothing."

"You see, if you have the courage to acknowledge your fears, you will be taking the first step toward controlling them instead of them controlling you. And if you take the next step toward understanding, you will be able to move past them to compassion,... perhaps even to love."

Faith

There was a tightrope walker, who was so good that he could walk between two twenty stories building on a tight rope with a balancing pole.

Thousands of people would watch him perform his breathtaking feat. After he walked across the building he would have his assistant sit on his shoulder and he would proceed to walk across the building.

Everybody were amazed and gave him a thunderous applause. He asked them whether they believed that he could do it again. The crowd said, “Yes, we believe that you can!”

After a while he asked the crowd again, “Now, who wants to volunteer to
get on my shoulder?” With that the crowd became silent.

There is a difference between Believe and Faith. We can believe what we see. In the above story, the crowd believed in the tightrope walker because they saw him perform the feat. But when he asked them “Who wants to get on my shoulder?” everyone was silent. You see, the crowd had Belief but they did not have Faith. This story clearly illustrates the difference between belief and having faith.

Prayer for Brother

Two brothers lived in constant poverty. The elder brother was satisfied with his humble assets and led a life of peace and contentment. But the younger brother was always unhappy, ambitious and greedy. He wanted to enjoy all the pleasures of life and was envious of his wealthy neighbours. He rejected his elder brother’s views with contempt.

One day they met a saintly preacher on the way. The younger brother complained about his constant poverty and God’s apparent cruelty. The preacher consoled him and advised them to pray for receiving richer resources if it is the will of God.

They returned to their homes and resumed their prayers with greater zeal. The younger brother soon started receiving several blessings. His land gave a rich harvest and he obtained a loan to start a new business. His financial status soared steadily. But his elder brother remained poor as before. The younger brother considered his brother to be unworthy to receive the blessings of God as his prayers were not answered so far.

The saintly preacher later returned to their village and met both the brothers. He was surprised to find that the younger brother had become a successful and wealthy businessman in a short period. The preacher asked him why he did not share a part of his blessings with his elder brother who was still very poor. The rich man replied that the blessings he received were the results of his own fervent prayers and his brother did not deserve any gift because even God had disregarded his prayers and deserted him.

Then the preacher told him, “You are thoroughly mistaken, my son. God has answered all the prayers of your brother.”

“But I don’t find that he received any blessing from God. He is unworthy to get the grace of God and I don’t care for him”, the rich man replied.

The preacher corrected him, “I know what he had prayed for. He was praying to God for you. He was praying that all your prayers shall be answered and your wishes be fulfilled. He did not pray for his own prosperity. Whatever you enjoy now is the result of his intercession. You should be thankful to him for ever.” These words transformed the rich man.

He learned that the blessings we receive need not be the fruits of our own prayers or efforts alone, but can be the results of the prayers of others for us.

What is Life?

Life isn't about keeping score. It's not about how many friends you have. Or how accepted you are. Not about if you have plans this weekend or if you're alone.

It isn't about who you're dating, who you used to date, how many people you've dated, or if you haven't been with anyone at all. It isn't about who you have kissed, it's not about sex.

It isn't about who your family is or how much money they have. Or what kind of car you drive. Or where you are sent to school. It's not about how beautiful or ugly you are. Or what clothes you wear, what shoes you have on, Or what kind of music you listen to.

It's not about if your hair is blonde, red, black, or brown. Or if your skin is too light or too dark. Not about what grades you get, how smart you are, how smart everybody else thinks you are, or how smart standardized tests say you are. It's not about what clubs you're in or how good you are at "your" sport. It's not about representing your whole being on a piece of paper and seeing who will "accept the written you."

But, life is about whom you love and whom you hurt. It's about whom you make happy or unhappy purposefully. It's about keeping or betraying trust.

It's about friendship, used as a sanctity or a weapon. It's about what you say and mean, maybe hurtful, maybe heartening. About starting rumors and contributing to petty gossip.

It's about what judgments you pass and why. And who your judgments are spread to. It's about whom you've ignored with full control and intention. It's about jealousy, fear, ignorance, and revenge. It's about carrying inner hate and love, letting it grow, and spreading it.

But most of all, it's about using your life to touch or poison other people's hearts in such a way that could have never occurred alone.

Only you choose the way those hearts are affected, and those choices are what life's all about.

A Story

An old man lived in a certain part of London, and he would wake up every morning and go to the subway. He would get the train right to Central London, and then sit at the street corner and beg. He would do this every single day of his life. He sat at the same street corner and begged for almost 20 years.

His house was filthy, and a stench came out of the house and it smelled horribly. The neighbours could not stand the smell anymore,so they summoned the police officers to clear the place. The officers knocked down the door and cleaned the house. There were small bags of money all over the house that he had collected over the years.

The police counted the money, and they soon realized that the old man was a millionaire. They waited outside his house in anticipation to share the good news with him. When he arrived home that evening, he was met by one the officers who told him that there was no need for him to beg any more as he was a rich man now, a millionaire.

He said nothing at all; he went into his house and locked the door. The next morning he woke up as usual, went to the subway, got into the train, and sat at the street corner and continued to beg.

Obviously, this old man had no great plans, dreams or anything significant for his life. We learn nothing from this story other than staying focused on the things we enjoy doing, commitment. We should remain true to our course; which may mean committing yourselves to things that people around you would normally disapprove. Let nothing distract us from being happy, let nothing else determine our fate, but ourselves. What makes us happy is what matters in the end, not what we acquire.

The Fruit

There were once a group of three lost men in the mountain and they only had a fruit to feed all of three, who were almost fainting from starvation. Then God appeared to them and told them he would test their wisdom and depending on what they would show would save them. So God asked them what may they ask Him to fix that problem and get everybody fed.

The first one said: "Then make appear more food", God answered that it was an answer with no wisdom, since you should not ask God that magically make appear the solution to problems without working with what we have.

The second one said then: "So make the fruit grow to make it enough", to which God answered no, since the solution is not to ask always the multiplication of what we have to fix the problem, since the human being can never be satisfied and therefore it would never be enough.

The third one then said: "My good God, even though we are hungry and we are proud, make us small ourselves so the fruit would be enough". God said: "You have answered right, since when man makes himself humble and small before my eyes, he will see prosperity".

Know that it is always taught that somebody else fix the problems or to look for the easy way out, always asking God to fix everything without us changing or sacrificing anything. That is why so many times it seems God does not listen to us since we ask without letting anything be left aside and always wanting to win. Many times we are selfish and want always everything for us.

We will be happy the day when we learn that the way to ask God is by seeing ourselves as weak, and by being humble leaving our pride aside. And we will see that by making us small in luxuries and by being time at heart we will see prosperity from God and see the way how He does listen.

The Empty Soap Box

One of the most memorable case studies on Japanese management was the case of the empty soap box, which happened in one of Japan's biggest cosmetics companies. The company received a complaint that a consumer had bought a soap box that was empty.

Immediately the authorities isolated the problem to the assembly line, which transported all the packaged boxes of soap to the delivery department. For some reason, one soap box went through the assembly line empty.

Management asked its engineers to solve the problem. Post-haste, the engineers worked hard to devise an X-ray machine with high- resolution monitors manned by two people to watch all the soap boxes that passed through the line to make sure they were not empty.

No doubt, they worked hard and they worked fast but they spent whoopee amount to do so. But when a workman was posed with the same problem, did not get into complications of X-rays, etc but instead came out with another solution.

He bought a strong industrial electric fan and pointed it at the assembly line. He switched the fan on, and as each soap box passed the fan, it simply blew the empty boxes out of the line.

Moral of the story: Always look for simple solutions. Devise the simplest possible solution that solves the problem. So, learn to focus on solutions not on problems. "If you look at what you do not have in life, you don't have anything; if you look at what you have in life, you have everything.

The Tree & The Flower

One day there was a tree and a flower that sat close to each other on a large prairie. The sun was shining bright and the air was crisp with the warm summer breeze. The grass flowed freely and bent with the wind. The flower sitting there with its green leaves and brightly coloured flower blazing its scent and colour across the prairie for anyone to see and smell.

The tree stood wide and tall with its branches flowing out; its branches floating free on the gentle breezes of the wind. The branches were full of bright green leaves that glistened in the sun. The tree was majestic but very much humble to what its become.

One day the flower had many visitors to its pedals which made it glad. The flower was proud that it was noticed and liked among the insects that visited it. The flower boldly spoke and said with such fact, "I am well noticed for I can spew my scent out to those that want to smell and follow it. I am feeling good about myself for I have brought these things to me and they have pollinated my flower."

The tree looking down in a rather disappointed sort of way spoke his words quietly and softly, "Your flower is bright this I must truly say, but your words are too strong for you notice little of why they have come to this land. They come not for the brightness of your flower or scent but for the food that is all around you in this wide open land. Your words are arrogant considering how small you really are. They come to me as well to feed on these flowers that I bear. They feast in the powder that collects within all flowers. No matter who they are or where they stand."

The flower shot back, "but you just don't get it do you? I am very bright and I am for a reason. I am better than you and this I can prove. I am well known throughout these parts that spread so far and so wide. The truth that I speak will stand long before my eyes."

The tree just sat there in nothing but amazement, for the flower refused to see what was truly being said. The flower sat there so smug in its glory and gleam. It was proud that it had proven that a flower is much greater than a tree. It refused to see that tree was covering its head from the storms that came by. Covering its head from the rains that devoured all else in its way. The tree just stood there doing just what it does best. Sheltering all, that needs its protection. Giving life to those that know where to look and using its branches to support all life there.

Later that day a four-legged came along. It smelled the rich scent of that wonderful flower. Its rather strong scent was sweet to its nose. It wanted to find where this scent flowed from. And see where it grows. It came on the flower and there it sat in its glory. Sitting there so it did before. It brightly and smelling its own glory.

The four-legged smelled that flower like no other seemed there was nothing like it that met its grand smell. The four- legged was so impressed it just couldn't wait. It opened its mouth and ate that flower head. The tree sat there in horror at what it just saw. That poor flower had lost its lovely smell and its bright grandeur.

The moral of this story is nothing to seek. When you open your mouth, you better be prepared. For what you seek may not be what you want. The power of words flow strong and flow true. The power of words may one day come back to eat you.

The Master

When one Guru was dying, one of his deciple asked him "Guruji, who was your master?"He said, "I had thousands of masters. If I just relate their names it will take months, years and it is too late. But three masters I will certainly tell you about. "

"One was a thief. Once I got lost in the desert, and when I reached a village it was very late, everything was closed. But at last I found one man who was trying to make a hole in the wall of a house. I asked him where I could stay and he said 'At this time of night it will be difficult, but you can stay with me - if you can stay with a thief".

"And the man was so beautiful. I stayed for one month! And each night he would say to me, 'Now I am going to my work. You rest, you pray.' When he came back I would ask 'Could you get anything?' He would say, 'Not tonight. But tomorrow I will try again, God willing.' He was never in a state of hopelessness, he was always happy. When I was meditating and meditating for years on end and nothing was happening, many times the moment came when I was so desperate, so hopeless,that I thought to stop all this nonsense. And suddenly I would remember the thief who would say every night, God willing, tomorrow it is going to happen. "

"And my second master was a dog. I was going to the river, thirsty and a dog came. He was also thirsty. He looked into the river, he saw another dog there -- his own image -- and became afraid. He would bard and run away, but his thirst was so much that he would come back. Finally, despite his fear, he just jumped into the water, and the image disappeared. And I knew that a message had come to me from God: one has to jump in spite of all fears."

"And the third master was a small child. I entered a town and a child was carrying a lit candle. He was going to the temple to put the candle there.'Just joking,'
I asked the boy, 'Have you lit the candle yourself?'
He said, 'Yes sir.'
And I asked, 'There was a moment when the candle was unlit, then there was a moment when the candle was lit. Can you show me the source from which the light came?'
And the boy laughed, blew out the candle, and said, 'Now you have seen the light going. Where has it gone? You will tell me!' My ego was shattered, my whole knowledge was shattered. And that moment I felt my own stupidity. Since then I dropped all my knowledgeability. "

"It is true that I had no master. That does not mean that I was not a disciple -- I accepted the whole existence as my master. My Disciplehood was a greater involvement than yours is. I trusted the clouds, the trees. I trusted existence as such. I had no master because I had millions of masters I learned from every possible source. To be a disciple is a must on the path. What does it mean to be a disciple? It means to be able to learn. to be available to learn to be vulnerable to existence. With a master you start learning to learn. "

"The master is a swimming pool where you can learn how to swim. Once you have learned, all the oceans are yours."

The Way Out

One day Buddha came into his assembly of the monks. It must have been just a morning like this. His sannyasins were sitting and waiting for him. They were puzzled because this was for the first time that Buddha had come with something in his hand – a handkerchief. They all looked at the handkerchief. What was the matter? There must be something special in it. And Buddha sat on the platform and rather than starting speaking to the assembly he looked at the handkerchief, started tying a few knots in it, five knots in all.

The whole assembly watched – what is going on? And then he asked the assembly, ”Can anybody tell me: is this handkerchief the same as it was before the knots were tied?”

Sariputta said, ”This is a tricky question. In a way the handkerchief is the same because nothing has changed, in a way it is not the same because these five knots have appeared which were not there before. But as far as the inner nature of the handkerchief is concerned – its nature is concerned – it is the same; but as far as its form is concerned it is no more the same. The form has changed: the substance is the same.”