Anger

One day Buddha was walking through a village. A very angry and rude young man came up and began insulting him. “You have no right teaching others,” he shouted. “You are as stupid as everyone else. You are nothing but a fake.” Buddha was not upset by these insults. Instead he asked the young man “Tell me, if you buy a gift for someone, and that person does not take it, to whom does the gift belong?” The man was surprised to be asked such a strange question and answered, “It would belong to me, because I bought the gift.” The Buddha smiled and said, “That is correct. And it is exactly the same with your anger. If you become angry with me and I do not get insulted, then the anger falls back on you.

When you have to make choices

A man got lost in desert and has exhausted all the water that he had carried . He knew if he didn’t get some water he would certainly die. Although completely exhausted , the man didn’t give up hope. He kept walking for some sign of good fortune. Suddenly he saw a small hut at some distance. “could it be a mirage ?” he thought. “May be a hallucination” but with no other option left he moved closer only to realize that the hut was real. Gathering the last bit of energy he dragged his body inside the hut hoping he could find some water. The hut was empty and seemed like it had been abandoned long time ago. His heart skipped a beat, when he saw what was in the hut. A hand Pump! Water finally! He was overjoyed. He began working on water pump but no water came up. He tried harder and harder but no water. Finally after putting every bit of energy he gave up out of exhaustion and sat down thinking “maybe I am destined to die out of thirst”. And then the second lifeline , he noticed a bottle in the corner of room. It was filled with water and corked up. He opened the bottle and when he was about to drink it , he noticed a piece of paper. The handwritten note said “use this water to start the pump , don’t forget to fill the bottle when you are done”. He was now in a dilemma to follow the instruction or to ignore and drink it. If the instruction was wrong he would be throwing away last amount water he would ever see. 

Finally with a leap of faith he used the water to start the pump and he could see fresh cold water coming out and he quenched his thirst. He also found a map and a pencil in the room. The map showed he was far away from civilization , but atleast now he knew where he was and in which direction to go next. He filled up his flask for the journey ahead . And as per instruction on note he filled the bottle and put a cork. Before leaving he also added an extra line in the instruction ‘believe me, it works!’. 

Most of us may not be confronted with this situation where the choice made decide whether we live or die. Yet we have our own journeys to take and our own choices to make. If the choice we make goes our way , fantastic , we can inspire people by telling them ‘believe me it works!’ and if it doesn’t go our way we can share our experiences , our mistakes, realizations and empower people to make their right choices.

The Copper Coin

Once, Gandhi was on an expedition to collect funds from various cities and villages for an organization to help the poor. He went to several places and finally reached Orissa. He organized a meeting in Orissa. There, he gave a speech to the public, requesting them to give him funds for the organization. At the end of his speech, a very old woman with bent back, tattered clothing, white hair, and shrunken skin got up. She requested the volunteers to allow her to reach Gandhi. However, the volunteers stopped her. She did not give up. She fought with them and reached Gandhi. She touched the feet of Gandhi. Then she took out a copper coin kept in the folds of her saree and placed it at his feet. Then the old lady left the stage.

Gandhi very carefully took the coin. The treasurer of the organization for the poor asked Gandhi for the copper coin, but he refused to give it. “I keep cheques worth thousands of rupees,” said the treasurer. “Yet you won’t trust me with a copper coin!”  Gandhi said, “This copper coin is worth much more than those thousands. If a man has several lakhs and he gives away a thousand or two, it doesn’t mean much.” Yes, the coin might have been the only thing that the poor old woman possessed. She did not even have proper clothes and could not afford good food. Still she gave everything she had. That is why Gandhi regarded the coin as very precious.

Offering help when we have nothing or very little makes it more valuable.

Its in your hands

High on a hilltop overlooking the beautiful city of Venice, Italy, there lived an old man who was a genius. Legend had it he could answer any question anyone might ask of him. Two of the local boys figured they could fool the old man, so they caught a small bird and headed for his residence. 

One of the boys held the little bird in his hands and asked the old man if the bird was dead or alive. Without hesitation the old man said, ” Son, if I say to you that the bird is alive, you will close your hands and crush him to death. If I say the bird is dead, you will open your hands and he will fly away. You see, son, in your hands you hold the power of life and death.” 

In your hands you hold the seeds of failure or the potential for greatness. Your hands are capable but they must be used and for the right things to reap the rewards you are capable of attaining.