Banyan Tree 2022
TEACHING STORY
KINDNESS TRANSFORMS
Once, not so long ago, there lived a grumpy, ugly, and rather smelly old man. Every morning, he would pick himself up from the dirt and start walking the main road as usual in search of food. He would thus spend his days trying to find food and shelter, but every day, town folk and villagers would chase him away, teasing him and calling him names. Many days were spent like this, hungry and alone.
“Hey you over there, you!” shouted a man. “You smell so bad my pigs have just hidden themselves. Ha ha ha!” As the grumpy, smelly man heard this new insult he could feel himself becoming just a wee bit grumpier and stinkier than he had been a few moments before.
“Oi, smelly britches,” laughed a little girl.
“Get out of our town, you grumpy, smelly thing,” shouted an angry woman.
“Leave us alone,” added another. “You’re not welcome, looking as ugly as a dog’s dinner.”
Walking out of town, our old man was feeling awful. He was terribly hungry and extremely lonely. He felt even grumpier this morning and started muttering under his smelly breath, all the way to the next village. Over there lived a wise man of high repute and a master in dealing with all matters of the heart and mind. Upon entering the village, fresh insults were hurled in his direction, and he already felt slightly grumpier than he did a moment ago. His heart sank and he began to feel like his life was hopeless; he was sure he wouldn’t eat today.
Hearing the commotion, the highly revered wise man approached the scene. He watched how each fresh insult made the grumpy, smelly old man just ever so slightly smellier and grumpier. And so he devised a wise plan. He explained to the villagers how this poor man was suffering greatly and that the only cure for this great suffering was kindness. He told the local villagers that they must begin to praise him and bestow happiness upon him. On hearing this, the villagers’ hearts went out to the grumpy old man.
“Welcome to our village,” a young woman said to the old man.
“You must be tired with all your walking; let me help you,” said another and gently assisted the old man.
And every time they welcomed the grumpy, smelly old man into their hearts, he would become ever so slightly less smelly and a touch less grumpy. And the more the villagers could see how sending kindness towards the grumpy old man was working, the more they praised him, making him a happier and nicer person altogether.
Eventually, every trace of the ugly, smelly, grumpy old man was replaced by a handsome, kind-hearted, and happy old man. He spent the rest of his days living in that wonderful little village and became a life-long student of the wise man who had turned his life around.
INSPIRATION
EMBRACING YOURSELF
Only by learning to
Fully embrace all aspects of ourselves
Even the most seemingly
Negative elements of our minds and heart
Will we learn to fully
Embrace others. Only by
Discovering the basic goodness
in both our lotus and our mud
will we come to see the
basic goodness of all living beings.
—Pema Chodron
ONE-MINUTE WISDOM
TRUE COLOURS
A baker wanted to get to know a great guru in his town a little better, so he invited him to dinner. The day before, the guru went to the bakery disguised as a beggar, picked a bread roll off the display, and began to eat it. The baker saw this and tossed him out into the street.
The following day, the guru and a disciple went to the baker’s house and were treated to a splendid banquet. In the middle of the meal, the disciple asked, “How does one tell a good man from a bad man?” The guru replied, “Just look at this baker. He is capable of spending ten gold pieces on a banquet because I am famous, but is incapable of giving a piece of bread to feed a hungry beggar.”
JUST FOR LAUGHS
CATHOLIC MULLA
Mulla Nasruddin was getting ready to apply to a local department store for a job. A friend told him that the store employed only Catholic Christians, and if he wanted a job there, he would have to lie about being a Catholic Christian. Nasruddin applied for the job and the employer asked him: “Which church do you belong to?” Mulla replied, “I am a Catholic. All my family is Catholic. In fact, my father is a priest, and my mother is a nun.”
QUOTE
“Peace is this moment without judgement. This moment in the heart-space where everything that is, is welcome.”
—Tara Brach