Pure and Unfettered

As we know, all beings in this world have cravings, which in turn generate illimitable and immeasurable vexations. Most of our cravings are for physical gratification and can only be restrained if we remain contented. There is an old saying: "Contentment leads to ceaseless joy." This may sound simple, but is by no means easy to carry out. Yet, it is undeniable that whenever you feel contented, your mind will be free of vexations and attachments and will stay pure and unfettered.

~ Analects of Master Kuang-ch'in

Harry's Nose

Gossiping about the wrongdoings of others is in itself wrong.

When we slander another excessively,

we too will suffer harm and great misfortune.    

It had been snowing for weeks, and snow families appeared all over the countryside. Mr. and Mrs. SnowJones were very lucky for they had two sons, Harry and Elmer. Like their father, they wore blue and yellow knit hats, and had carrot noses. Their mother, like her mother, wore a scarf and had a potato nose.

Harry and Elmer loved following their father as he walked up and down the hills. He praised his sons for joining him in greeting the neighbors. Because their father praised them for their politeness, Harry and Elmer tried even harder to keep up with him so that he’d be even prouder of them.

One day, before the SnowJones were awake, Harry felt something pulling on his nose. He opened his eyes and found himself staring into another pair of eyes. Big pink ones! Then he saw a pair of gigantic floppy ears and a nose as pink as the eyes. It was a rabbit! And while looking at the rabbit’s nose, he realized with horror that the rabbit had its teeth sunk into his carrot nose and was tugging on it!

Harry cried out. He grabbed his nose and pulled as hard as he could, but the rabbit was too strong. Before his family could come to Harry’s aid, the rabbit pulled the carrot out of Harry’s hands and bounded away with it. With one leap, the rabbit cleared the fence in the SnowJones’ yard and was gone.

And so was Harry’s nose.

Harry ran over to the fence and began pounding on it, yelling for the rabbit to return his nose. Realizing his nose was probably gone forever, he sat down and began to cry.

His parents tried to console him, saying they’d get him a new nose, but Harry knew that carrots were hard to find since they had all been used up by the snow people.

Snow families from around the neighborhood came running to see what the commotion was. By now, Harry had stopped crying and was getting angry. “He was a mean old rabbit!”

The neighbors agreed in sympathy.

“He was fat and ugly!” Harry continued.

A neighbor agreed, “He sure was one fat rabbit.”

“It’s amazing he could even jump the fence,” added another.

“He’s a thief!” Harry was really getting angry now.

“Can you imagine stealing a kid’s nose?” piped someone from the back of the crowd. “I never did like those dumb rabbits,” mumbled a snow woman near him.

“He should be caught and fined. We should take away all his carrots and see how he likes it!” Harry blurted out.

Feeling that things were getting a little out of hand, Mr. SnowJones motioned for everyone to calm down. He turned to Harry. “Now son, we know how badly you feel. But the rabbit taking your nose is no reason for you to say untrue things.”

Mrs. SnowJones added, “We don’t know all the facts. Maybe he’s hungry. Maybe his brothers and sisters, or his elderly parents are. We don’t know why he did it. But whatever the reason, we shouldn’t make up things.”

Then a hush fell over the crowd. An enormous carrot appeared at the top of the fence. It was held by a rope. And at the other end of the rope was a rabbit! He slowly lowered the carrot to the ground then jumped down next to it. He dragged the carrot over to the SnowJones, looked up at Harry’s parents, and swallowed hard.

“I heard what you said. I didn’t take the carrot for my brothers or sisters. I don’t have any. I don’t have any parents either. I never had anyone teach me what was wrong. But what you told Harry sounded like good advice. I ate his carrot while listening to you, so it’s gone. But here’s another one. It’s much bigger, so maybe you can cut it down for Harry to use.”

Then the rabbit turned to Harry. “I’m sorry I took your nose.”

“I’m sorry I made up stories about you,” replied Harry. “And I’m sorry you don’t have a family. Maybe you can live with us.” Harry turned to his parents.

“Mom? Dad?” His parents smiled in agreement.

And for the rest of the winter, the rabbit happily had a family.

  Kind, truthful words build friendships;

lies destroy them.

Planting and Reaping

When ordinary beings meet with disaster, if they do not resent the heavens, they blame their fellow beings. Very few think of repaying their karma and developing a mind of repentance and reform. You should know that “if you plant melons, you reap melons; if you plant beans, you reap beans.” This is the natural course of events. Having sown thorns, do not expect, when the harvest comes, to have wheat and rice. If those who create evil still enjoy blessings, it is because in previous lifetimes they amassed great blessings; if not for their transgressions, their blessings would have been much greater.

It is as if a scion of a wealthy family were to lead a dissipated life, lusting and gambling, squandering money like so much dirt without suffering hunger and cold immediately because of his great fortune. Yet, if he were to continue in this manner day in and day out, even with a family estate in the millions, one day he would surely lose all his property and suffer a premature death. 

If those who perform wholesome deeds customarily meet with misfortune, it is because they planted the seeds of transgression deeply in past lifetimes. If not for their good deeds, their misfortunes would have been much worse.

~ Great Master Yin Kuang, Thirteenth Patriarch of the Pure Land school

Critical Moment

In a critical moment--you hear a cry of terror, you slam the car door on your finger, you hear the screeching of car brakes and in a moment the sound of the crash, you are given some very bad news--what is the first word that pops into your mind?

Is it a four letter expletive?

Or is it "Amituofo." 

If it isn't the latter, or a word appropriate for your belief system or faith, you need to work harder at insuring your first thought is the right thought. Because any moment in any day, that first thought could be our last thought, the thought that leads us to our next rebirth.

Old Friends, New Friends

Neither ignore old friends

nor take delight in only new ones.

Jack and Ryan had been best friends for as long as they could remember. They were always together. In fact, their parents joked that they might as well move in to one or the other’s house since they spend so much time together.

One day at school, a new boy named Owen was brought to class and given the desk next to Jack. After class, Jack introduced him to Ryan. When Ryan went to the library, Owen told Jack that he had seen him on the playground and that Jack was great at sports. Owen praised Jack so much that when Owen asked Jack to be his partner in the games that weekend, Jack agreed without thinking.

Jack’s head was swimming with Owen’s praise until he saw Ryan coming down the hallway from the library. Then he remembered that he and Ryan always played in the games together. Not knowing what to do, Jack said the first thing that came to his mind. He told Ryan that their teacher had asked him to help Owen feel welcome and to partner him in the games.

Ryan was hurt but didn’t want to make Jack feel bad, so he said okay. He then turned to walk home, alone. Jack was about to go after him when Owen came up and started saying how great Jack would be at the games. With all the praise from his new friend, Jack forgot all about Ryan.

That Saturday, Owen and Jack were in the rope-climbing contest. Jack had never been very good at this, but Ryan never minded. During the contest, one team of climbers competed with another team. Owen was much better than Jack, but even so they lost to the other team.

Owen said no problem, that he was going for some water. When he didn’t come back, Jack went to look for him. He saw Owen talking to another boy and was coming up behind them to apologize to Owen when he heard him say, “I figured if I asked that klutz Jack to be my partner, I could always blame him if I lost. Pretty smart, huh?” And both boys burst out laughing.

Jack froze. This was who he had dropped his best friend for! Ryan had never called him a klutz. Ryan would never call anyone a klutz! Miserable, Jack turned to leave when he saw Ryan coming toward him. At first, Jack didn’t know what to say. Then he knew he had to tell the truth. After admitting that the teacher had not asked him to play with Owen, Jack stopped talking. He was terrified that Ryan would never forgive him and he’d have lost his best friend.

Ryan looked at him and was silent. Then he smiled and said, “Forget Owen. Let’s go play ball!”

Do not ignore old friends in favor of new ones.