A Buddhist master was traveling on foot with his disciples, when he noted that they were discussing among themselves who was the best. "I have practiced meditation for fifteen years," said one. "I have been charitable ever since I left my parents' home," said another. "I have always followed the precepts of Buddha," said a third. At noon, they stopped under an apple tree to rest. The branches of the tree were loaded down with fruit, to the point that its branches reached to the ground. "When a tree is laden with fruit, its branches bend to touch the ground. The truly wise is he who is humble. When a tree bears no fruit, its branches are arrogant and haughty. The foolish man always believes that he is better than others."
Antonio Machado says: "Blow by blow, step by step, Pathfinder, there is no path, The path is made to be walked. By walking, the path is made, And if you look back, All you will see are the marks Of footsteps that one day Your feet will once again take. Pathfinder, there is no path, The path is made to be walked."
At the Last Supper, Jesus accused -with the same gravity and using the same phrase -two of his apostles. Both had committed the crimes foreseen by Jesus. Judas Iscariot recovered his senses and condemned himself. Peter also recovered his senses, after denying three times everything he had believed in. But at the decisive moment, Peter understood the true meaning of Jesus' message. He asked forgiveness and went on, humiliated. He could have chosen suicide, but instead he faced the other apostles and must have said: "Okay, speak of my error for as long as the human race exists. But let me correct it." Peter understood that Love forgives. Judas understood nothing.
A famous writer was walking with a friend when a boy started to cross the street in front of an oncoming truck. The writer, in a fraction of a second, threw himself in front of the truck and was able to save the boy. But, before anyone could praise him for his act of heroism, he slapped the boy across the face.
"Don't be fooled by appearances, my boy," he said. "I saved you only so that you couldn't evade the problems you will have as an adult." The master says: "Sometimes we are afraid of doing good. Our sense of guilt always tries to tell us that -when we act with generosity -we are merely trying to impress others. It is difficult for us to accept that we are good by nature. We mask our good acts with irony and indifference, as if live were synonymous with weakness."
Jesus looked at the table before him, wondering what would be the best symbol of his passage on Earth.
On the table were pomegranates from Galilee, spices from the deserts of the south, dried fruits fromSyria and Egyptian dates. He must have extended His hand to consecrate one of them, when suddenly he recalled the message that he brought was for all men everywhere. And perhaps pomegranates and dates did not exist is some parts of the world. He looked about him, and another thought occurred to him: in the pomegranates and the dates and the fruits, the miracle of Creation manifested itself without any interference by human beings. So he picked up the bread, gave thanks, and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: "Take and eat, all of you, for this is my Body." Because bread was everywhere. And bread, in contrast with the dates, the pomegranates and the fruits ofSyria , was the best symbol of the path toward God. Bread was the fruit of the earth and of man's labors.
The juggler stops in the middle of the plaza, pulls out three oranges and begins to toss them. People gather round and marvel at the grace and elegance of his movements. "That's what life's like, more or less," someone standing there with the wanderer says. "We always have an orange in each hand, and one in the air. But that one in the air makes all the difference. It was thrown with ability and experience, but it follows its own course. Like the juggler, we throw a dream out into the world, but we don't always have control over it. At times like that, you have to know how to put yourself in God's hands -and ask that, in due time, the dream follows its course correctly and falls, completed, back into your hand."
One of the most powerful exercises in interior growth consists in paying attention to things we do automatically -like breathing, blinking our eyes, or attending to things around us. When we do this, we allow our brain to work with greater freedom -without the interference of our desires. Certain problems that appeared to be insoluble wind up being resolved, and certain pains that we thought could never be overcome wind up dissipating effortlessly. The master says: "When you have to confront a difficult situation, try to use that technique. It requires a bit of discipline... but the results can be surprising".
A man is at a fair, selling vases. A woman approaches and examines his merchandise. Some pieces are undecorated, while others have carefully wrought designs. The woman asks the price of the vases. To her surprise, she learns that they all cost the same. "How can the decorated vase cost the same as the simple ones?" she asks. "Why charge the same for a vase that it took more time and effort to make?" "I am an artist," the seller says. "I can charge for the vase I made, but not for its beauty. The beauty is free."
The wanderer was seated alone at a mass. Suddenly, he was approached by a friend. "I have to talk to you," the friend said. The wanderer saw in the meeting a sign, and began to talk about what he considered to be important. He spoke of God's blessings, of love, and of the fact that he saw his friend's arrival as a signal from his angel, because moments before the wanderer had felt alone, whereas now he had company. The friend listened without saying a word, thanked the wanderer, and left. Rather than happiness, the wanderer fell more alone than ever. Later, he realized that, in his enthusiasm, he had paid no attention to his friends request: that he speak. The wanderer looked down and saw his words thrown to the floor. Because the Universe wanted something different to have happened at that moment.
Three fairies were invited to the baptism of a prince. The first granted the prince the gift of finding his love. The second granted him enough money to do as he pleased. The third granted him beauty. But, as in all fairy tales, a witch appeared. She was furious at not having been invited, and pronounced a curse:
"Because you already have everything, I'm going to give you even more. You will be talented at whatever you try to do." The prince grew up handsome, rich and in love. But he was never able to complete his mission on Earth. He was an excellent painter, sculptor, musician, mathematician -but
he was never able to complete a task because he quickly became distracted and wanted to move on to something else. The master says: "All roads lead to the same place. But choose your own, and follow it to the end. Do not try to walk every road."
An anonymous text from the XVIII century speaks of a Russian monk who was looking for a spiritual adviser. One day, he was told that in a certain village lived a hermit who dedicated himself night and day to the salvation of his soul. Hearing this, the monk went in search of the holy man. "I want you to guide me along the paths of the soul," the monk said when he found the hermit. "The soul has its own path, and your angel will guide you," answered the hermit. "Pray without stopping." "I don't know how to pray like that. Will you teach me?" "If you do not know how to pray incessantly, then pray to God to teach you how to do so." "You are teaching me nothing," said the monk. "There is nothing to be taught, because you cannot transmit faith in the same way that you transmit knowledge about mathematics. Accept the mystery of faith, and the Universe will reveal itself."
The master says: "Write! Whether it's a letter, a diary or just some notes as you speak on the telephone -but write! In writing, we come closer to God and to others. If you want to understand your role in the world better, write. Try to put your soul in writing, even if no one reads your words -or worse, even if someone winds up reading what you did not want to be read. The simple fact of writing helps us to organize our thoughts and see more clearly what is in our surroundings. A paper and pen perform miracles -they alleviate pain, make dreams come true and summon lost hope. The word has power."
The monks of the desert affirmed that it was necessary to allow the hand of the angels to act. In order to bring this about, they sometimes did absurd things -such as speaking to the flowers or laughing without cause. The alchemists follow the "signs from God;" clues that sometimes make very little sense but wind up leading somewhere. The master says: "Do not fear being regarded as crazy -do something today that fits not at all with the logic you have learned. Behave is a way that is opposite to the usual serious comportment you were taught. This little thing, no matter how little it is, can open the door to a great adventure -human and spiritual."
A fellow is driving a luxurious Mercedes Benz when he blows a tire. As he tries to change it, he realizes that he has no jack. "Well, I'll go to the nearest house and ask if I can borrow one," he thinks, as he goes in search of help. "Maybe the person I ask, seeing my car, will charge me for finding me his jack," he says to himself. "With a car like this, and with me asking for help, he'll probably charge me ten dollars.
No, maybe even fifty, because he knows I really need the jack. He might take advantage of me and charge me as much as a hundred dollars." And the further he walks, the higher goes the price. "When he reaches the nearest house, and the owner opens the door, the man shouts: "You're a thief! A jack isn't worth that much! Keep it!" Who of us can say that he has never acted that way?
Milton Ericsson is the author of a new therapy that has won over thousands of practitioners in theUnited States . When he was twelve, he contracted polio. Ten months later, he heard a physician tell his parents:
"Your son will not make it through the night." Ericsson heard his mother crying. "Who knows, if I make it through the night, perhaps she won't suffer so," he thought. And he decided not to sleep until the next day dawned. As the sun rose, he shouted to his mother: "Hey, I'm still alive!" The joy in the house was so great that he decided that he would always try to make it through one more night to put off his family's suffering. He died at 75 in 1990, leaving a number of important books about the enormous capacity man has to overcome his own limitations.
"Holy man," said a novice to the FatherSuperior , "my heart is filled with love for the world, and my heart is cleansed of the temptations of the devil. What is the next step?" The padre asked the disciple to go with him to visit an ill person who was in need of extreme unction. After comforting the family, the father noticed a trunk in one of the corners. "What is in that trunk?" he asked. "The clothing that my uncle never wore," said his niece. "He always thought that there would be some occasion for wearing them, but they wound up rotting in the trunk." "Don't forget that trunk," the father said to the disciple as they left. "If you have spiritual treasures in your heart, put them into practice now. Or they will still."
Mystics say that when we begin our spiritual path, we want to speak often with God -and we wind up not listening to what He has to say to us. The master says: "Relax a bit. It is not easy. We have a natural need always to do the right thing, and we think we can do that if we work unceasingly. It is important to try, to fall, to get up and try again. But let us allow God to help. In the middle of a great effort, let us look at ourselves, allow Him to reveal himself and guide us. Let us sometimes allow Him to take us onto his lap."
Maktub
A padre at the monastery at Sceta was sought out by a young man who wanted to follow the spiritual path. "For a period of a year, pay money to whoever attacks you," said the padre. For twelve months, the young man made payment whenever he was attacked. At the end of the year, he went back to the padre to learn what the next step was. "Go into the city and buy food for me," the padre said. As soon as the man left, the padre disguised himself as a beggar, and using a short cut that he knew, went to the gates of the city. When the man approached, the padre began to insult him. "This is great!" said the man to the false beggar. "For an entire year, I had to pay anyone who insulted me, and now I can be attacked for free, without spending a cent." Hearing that, the padre took off his disguise. "You are ready for the next step, because you have learned to laugh in the face of your problems," he said.
The wanderer was walking with two of his friends through the streets ofNew York . Suddenly, in the midst of a casual conversation, the other two began to argue, almost attacking each other. Later -when things had calmed down -they were sitting in a bar. One of them apologized to the other. "I've noticed that it's very easy to be hurtful to those you know," he said. "If you were a stranger, I would have controlled myself much more. But because we are friends -and you know me better than anyone does --
I wound up being much more aggressive. That's human nature." Maybe it is human nature. But we should fight against it.
There are moments when we would very much like to help someone, but there is nothing we can do.
Either the circumstances do not allow us to offer help, or the person is not receptive to any expression of relatedness and support. The master says: "There is always love. Even at those times when we feel most useless, we can still love -without expectation of reward, change or thanks. If we are able to act in that way, the energy of love begins to transform the Universe around us. When this energy appears, it is always able to do its work".
Fifteen years ago, during a period of profound rejection of faith, the wanderer was with his wife and a friend inRio de Janeiro . As they were having a drink together, an old buddy with whom the wanderer had shared the craziness of the 60s and 70s came into the bar. "What are you doing now?" the wanderer asked. "I'm a priest", his friend said. As they left the place, the wanderer pointed at a child sleeping on the sidewalk. "See how concerned Jesus is with the world?" he said. "Of course I see," said the priest.