Seven monks lived in a cave. There was the head monk, his brother and his best friend. The fourth monk — well, he could not get along with the head monk. The fifth monk in the group was a very old monk — so old, he was expected to die at any time. The sixth monk was sick — so ill in fact that he too could die at any time. And the last monk, the seventh, was a useless monk. He always snored when he was supposed to be meditating, he could not remember his chanting, and even when he did — he would chant off key. But the others tolerated him and thanked him for teaching them patience.One day a gang of bandits discovered the cave. It was so well hidden that they wanted to take it over as their own base. They decided to kill the monks so that their secret hideout would never be revealed.
The head monk managed to persuade the gang of bandits to let the monks go — all except one, who would be killed as a warning to the other monks not to let anyone know the location of the cave! That was the best the head monk could do. Then, the head monk was left alone to make the awful decision of who should die so that the others could go free. However, he was unable to make the choice.As a good Buddhist, he loved all the monks equally: his brother, his best friend, his enemy, the old monk, the sick monk, and even the dear old useless monk. He understood the words: ‘The Door of my Heart will Always be Open to You, Whatever You Do, Whoever You Are.’ And most importantly, his love for others was equal to his love for himself. He could not choose between himself and the others.The head monk described the meaning of love to the bandits. It means forgiveness. It is stepping free from the prison of guilt; it is being at peace with oneself. Only then can one meet sublime love. When we forgive our mistakes, we are at peace with ourselves.
Only when we love ourselves in such a way can we know what it means to really love all equally.
The bandits were so impressed and inspired that not only did they let the monks live, they became monks themselves! Together with the other monks they found the secret to happiness in life.
Labels: Stories on harmony |
