Irish Blessing...

His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to make a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog.

There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death.

The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman's sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved.

'I want to repay you,' said the nobleman. 'You saved my son's life.'

'No, I can't accept payment for what I did,' the Scottish farmer replied waving off the offer. At that moment, the farmer's own son came to the door of the family hovel.

'Is that your son?' the nobleman asked.

'Yes,' the farmer replied proudly.

'I'll make you a deal. Let me provide him with the level of education my own son will enjoy; if the lad is anything like his father, he'll no doubt grow to be a man we both will be proud of.' And that he did...

Farmer Fleming's son attended the very best schools and in time, graduated from St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin.

Years afterward, the same nobleman's son who was saved from the bog was stricken with pneumonia.

What saved his life this time? Penicillin...

The name of the nobleman?
Lord Randolph Churchill

His son's name?
Sir Winston Churchill.

Dance like nobody's watching.
Sing like nobody's listening.

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The Secrets of Heaven and Hell

The old monk sat by the side of the road. With his eyes closed, his legs crossed and his hands folded in his lap, he sat. In deep meditation, he sat.

Suddenly his zazen was interrupted by the harsh and demanding voice of a samurai
warrior. "Old man! Can you teach me about heaven and hell!"

At first, as though he had not heard, there was no perceptible response from the monk.
But gradually he began to open his eyes, the faintest hint of a smile playing around the
corners of his mouth as the samurai stood there, waiting impatiently, growing more and more agitated with each passing second.

"You wish to know the secrets of heaven and hell?" replied the monk at last. "You who
are so unkempt. You whose hands and feet are covered with dirt. You whose hair is
uncombed, whose breath is foul, whose sword is all rusty and neglected. You who are
ugly and whose mother dresses you funny. You would ask me of heaven and hell?"

The samurai uttered a vile curse. He drew his sword and raised it high above his head. His face turned to crimson and the veins on his neck stood out in bold relief as he prepared to sever the monk's head from its shoulders.

"That is hell," said the old monk gently, just as the sword began its descent.

In that fraction of a second, the samurai was overcome with amazement, awe, recognition and compassion for this gentle being who had dared to risk his very life to give him such a teaching. He stopped his sword in mid-flight and his eyes filled with grateful tears.

"And that," said the monk, "is heaven."

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In Chinatowns across the world, one cannot fail to
notice the ubiquitous statues of a cheerful rotund
figure carrying a hemp sack. The Chinese call him
"The Happy Chinaman" or "The Laughing Buddha".
That happy fellow, Pu-tai Ho-shang or "Hemp-bag
monk", was an eccentric Zen beggar priest who
lived during the Tang Dynasty. In Japan, he is
called Hotei (literally "cloth bag") and is one of
the seven lucky gods. He is supposedly the only
member of Japan's Seven Lucky Gods based on an
actual person. He is sometimes mistaken for the
historical Buddha Shakyamuni. It is believed that
rubbing his pot-belly will bring about wealth,
good luck and prosperity. He is considered by many
as the patron saint of restaurateurs and
bartenders.

Although he was a Zen master, he did not wished to
be called one nor he wanted any disciples.
Instead, he would walk the streets with his linen
sack full of candies, fruits, doughnuts and other
goodies. He would give those to the poor and needy
and to the children who gather around him to play.
The streets were his kindergartens.

Whenever he met a Zen devotee, he would extend his
hand and say: "Give me a dime." And if anyone
asked him to return to a temple to teach others,
again he would reply: "Give me a dime."

One day, another Zen master chanced upon him and
inquired: "What is the significance of Zen?"

Hotei immediatly plopped his sack down on the
ground in silent answer.

"Then," asked the other, "what is the
actualisation of Zen?"

Immediately, the Happy Chinaman swung the sack
over his shoulder and continued on his way.

_________________________

During the civil wars in feudal Japan, an invading army would quickly sweep into a town and take control. In one particular village, everyone fled just before the army arrived - everyone except the Zen master. Curious about this old fellow, the general went to the temple to see for himself what kind of man this master was. When he wasn't treated with the deference and submissiveness to which he was accustomed, the general burst into anger. "You fool," he shouted as he reached for his sword, "don't you realize you are standing before a man who could run you through without blinking an eye!" But despite the threat, the master seemed unmoved. "And do you realize," the master replied calmly, "that you are standing before a man who can be run through without blinking an eye?"

_________________________

A university student while visiting Gasan asked him: Have you ever read the
Christian Bible.

"No, read it to me," said Gasan.

The student opened the Bible and read from St. Matthew: "And why take ye
thought for rainment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They
toil not, neither do they spin, and I say unto you that even Solomon in all his
glory was not arrayed like one of these...Take therefore no thought for the morrow,
for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.

Gasan said: , "Whoever uttered those words I consider an enlightened man."

The student continued reading, "Ask and it shall be given you, seek and ye shall find,
knock and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth, and he
that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened."

Gasan remarked: "That is excellent. Whoever said that is not far from Buddhahood."

_________________________

There is always a better way

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet.He held up a sign which said: I am blind, please help. There were only a few coins in the hat. A man was walking by.He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat.He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words.He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by will see the new words.Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were.The boy recognised his footsteps and asked, ”Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?”The man said, “I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way.” What he had written was:"Today is a Beautiful day and I cannot see it."

_________________________

Bhaya-bherava Sutta

The thought occurred to me: 'Why do I just keep waiting for fear? What if I were to allow, face and subdue fear & dread in whatever state they come?' So when fear & dread came while I was walking back & forth, I would not stand or sit or lie down. I would keep walking back & forth until I had allowed, faced and subdued that fear & dread. When fear & dread came while I was standing, I would not walk or sit or lie down. I would keep standing until I had allowed, faced and subdued that fear & dread. When fear & dread came while I was sitting, I would not lie down or stand up or walk. I would keep sitting until I had allowed, faced and subdued that fear & dread. When fear & dread came while I was lying down, I would not sit up or stand or walk. I would keep lying down until I had allowed, faced and subdued that fear & dread. -- The Buddha

_________________________

Empty Your Cup

A university professor went to visit a famous Zen master. While the master quietly served tea, the professor kept on talking about Zen. The master poured the visitor's cup to the brim, and then kept pouring. The professor watched the overflowing cup until he could no longer restrain himself. "It's overfull! No more will go in!" the professor blurted. "You are like this cup," the master replied, "How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup."

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No More Questions

Upon meeting a Zen master at a social event, a psychiatrist decided to ask him a question that had been on his mind. "Exactly how do you help people?" he inquired.

"I get them where they can't ask any more questions," the Master answered.

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The Pear Tree

There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away.

The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer, and the youngest son in the fall. When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen.

The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted. The second son said no it was covered with green buds and full of promise. The third son disagreed; he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen. The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfillment.
The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but only one season in the tree's life. He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season, and that the essence of who they are and the pleasure, joy, and love that come from that life can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up.

If you give up when it's winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer, fulfillment of your fall.

_________________________

The donkey

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey.

He invited all his neighbours to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realised what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement he quieted down.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.

As the farmer's neighbours continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.

Remember five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Worries - most never happen.
3. Live simply and appreciate what you have.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less

BUT . . .

When the farmer tried to grab the donkey to put it in a pen, it bit him because he'd tried to bury him.

MORAL FROM TODAY'S LESSON:

When you do something wrong, and try to cover your ass, it always comes back to bite you.

More stories:
Ingratitude