The Turtles
A turtle family decided to go on a picnic. The turtles, being naturally slow about things, took 7 months to prepare for their outing. Finally the turtle family left home looking for a suitable place. During the second month of their journey they found a place ideal for them at last!
For about six weeks they cleaned the area, unpacked the picnic basket, and completed the arrangements. Then they discovered they had forgotten the salt. A picnic without salt would be a disaster, they all agreed. After a lengthy discussion, the youngest turtle was chosen to retrieve the salt from home. Although he was the fastest of the slow moving turtles, the little turtle whined, cried, and wobbled in his shell. He agreed to go on one condition: that no one would eat until he returned. The family consented and the little turtle left.
Three months passed and the little turtle had not returned. Five months...six months... then on the seventh month of his absence, the oldest turtle could no longer contain his hunger. He announced that he was going to eat. At that point the little turtle suddenly popped out from behind a tree shouting, 'See! I knew you wouldn't wait. Now I am not going to go get the salt.'
For about six weeks they cleaned the area, unpacked the picnic basket, and completed the arrangements. Then they discovered they had forgotten the salt. A picnic without salt would be a disaster, they all agreed. After a lengthy discussion, the youngest turtle was chosen to retrieve the salt from home. Although he was the fastest of the slow moving turtles, the little turtle whined, cried, and wobbled in his shell. He agreed to go on one condition: that no one would eat until he returned. The family consented and the little turtle left.
Three months passed and the little turtle had not returned. Five months...six months... then on the seventh month of his absence, the oldest turtle could no longer contain his hunger. He announced that he was going to eat. At that point the little turtle suddenly popped out from behind a tree shouting, 'See! I knew you wouldn't wait. Now I am not going to go get the salt.'
[Some of us waste our time waiting for people to live up to our expectations. We are so concerned about what others are doing that we
do not do anything ourselves.]
do not do anything ourselves.]
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The Frogs
A farmer came into town and asked the owner of a restaurant if he could use a million frog legs. The restaurant owner was shocked and asked the man where he could get so many frog legs! The farmer replied, 'There is a pond near my house that is full of frogs - millions of them. They all croak all night long and they are about to make me crazy!' So the restaurant owner and the farmer made an agreement that the farmer would deliver frogs to the restaurant, five hundred at a time for the next several weeks.
The first week, the farmer returned to the restaurant looking rather sheepish, with two scrawny little frogs. The restaurant owner said, 'Well... where are all the frogs?' The farmer said, 'I was mistaken. There were only these two frogs in the pond. But they sure were making a lot of noise!'
The first week, the farmer returned to the restaurant looking rather sheepish, with two scrawny little frogs. The restaurant owner said, 'Well... where are all the frogs?' The farmer said, 'I was mistaken. There were only these two frogs in the pond. But they sure were making a lot of noise!'
[ Next time you hear somebody criticizing or making fun of you, remember, it's probably just a couple of noisy frogs. Also remember that problems always seem bigger in the dark. Have you ever laid in your bed at night worrying about things which seem almost overwhelming like a million frogs croaking? Chances are pretty good that when the morning comes, and you take a closer look, you'll wonder what all the fuss was about.]
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The Two Monks
Once upon a time an old monk and a young monk were traveling together. They came to the bank of a river and found the bridge damaged. They had to wade across the river. There was a pretty lady who was stuck at the damaged bridge and couldn't cross the river.
The old monk offered to carry her across the river on his back. The lady accepted. The young monk was shocked by the move of the old monk. 'How can big brother carry a lady when we are supposed to avoid all intimacy with females?' thought the young monk. But he kept quiet.. The old monk carried the lady across the river and the young monk followed unhappily. When they crossed the river, the old monk let the lady down and they parted ways with her. All along the way for several miles, the young monk was very unhappy with the act of the old monk.
He was making up all kinds of accusations about old monk in his head. This got him madder and madder. But he still kept quiet. And the old monk had no inclination to explain his situation.
Finally, at a rest point many hours later, the young monk could not stand it any further, he burst out angrily at the old monk. 'How can you claim to be a devout monk when you seize the first opportunity to touch a female, especially a very pretty one? All your teachings to me make you a big hypocrite.
The old monk looked surprised and said, 'I had put down the pretty lady at the river bank many hours ago, why are you still carrying her along?'
The old monk offered to carry her across the river on his back. The lady accepted. The young monk was shocked by the move of the old monk. 'How can big brother carry a lady when we are supposed to avoid all intimacy with females?' thought the young monk. But he kept quiet.. The old monk carried the lady across the river and the young monk followed unhappily. When they crossed the river, the old monk let the lady down and they parted ways with her. All along the way for several miles, the young monk was very unhappy with the act of the old monk.
He was making up all kinds of accusations about old monk in his head. This got him madder and madder. But he still kept quiet. And the old monk had no inclination to explain his situation.
Finally, at a rest point many hours later, the young monk could not stand it any further, he burst out angrily at the old monk. 'How can you claim to be a devout monk when you seize the first opportunity to touch a female, especially a very pretty one? All your teachings to me make you a big hypocrite.
The old monk looked surprised and said, 'I had put down the pretty lady at the river bank many hours ago, why are you still carrying her along?'
[This very old Chinese Zen story reflects the thinking of many people today. We encounter many unpleasant things in our life, they irritate us and they make us angry. Sometimes, they cause us a lot of hurt, sometimes they cause us to be bitter or jealous. But like the young monk, we are not willing to let them go. We keep carrying the baggage with us. We let them hurt us, make us angry, make us bitter and cause us agony. Why not let go?]
p/s : 9.17pm.still nothing.hmm
p/s/s : MV Rachel Corrie is on their way to Gaza. Please keep praying!
p/s/s/s : panas! and tadi having our group makan-makan. nyum2! :) Dr Vivian sangat comel ohkay.hahaha
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