The Empty Boat..
A monk decides to meditate alone, away from his monastery. He takes his boat out to the middle of the lake, moors it there, closes his eyes and begins his meditation.
After a few hours of undisturbed silence, he suddenly feels the bump of another boat colliding with his own.
With his eyes still closed, he senses his anger rising, and by the time he opens his eyes, he is ready to scream at the boatman who dared to disturb his meditation.
But when he opens his eyes, he sees it’s an empty boat that had probably got untethered and floated to the middle of the lake. At that moment, the monk achieves self-realisation, and understands that the anger is within him; it merely needs the bump of an external object to provoke it out of him.
From then on, whenever he comes across someone who irritates him or provokes him to anger, he reminds himself, “The other person is merely an empty boat. The anger is within me.”
The Moral:
“If you can empty your own boat… no one will seek to harm you.” I know, it’s easier said than done. Then again, it’s not impossible though. Every little thing we do, say or think, every thought we brood over, every emotion we harbour adds to the weight. You may not be able to entirely empty your boat, but don’t keep it overloaded either. Heavy objects sink faster!
☆ ♥ ☆ ♥ ☆ ♥ ☆ ♥ ☆ ♥ ☆ ♥ ☆ ♥ ☆ ♥ ☆ ♥ ☆ ♥ ☆ ♥ ☆ ♥ ☆ ♥ ☆
Join us every Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday at 11am on our Facebook page for a new short story or poem and ‘Have a Cuppa with the Clarence Valley Independent’