An Interlude Lesson

Hello and good evening to you all.

This week and today in particular have been super busy.  However, I didn't want to go without posting anything.  So I decided to do something that sounds horrible.

I'm going to cheat.

That's right.  You heard me.  I'm cheating.  Cheater cheater something something...

Instead of my own words and such, I'm going to give you some parables to think about.  

I know, I know.  You are thinking, "Oh great, he's going to go all "Christiany" on us and start quoting the Bible."  Sorry, I'm not doing that(not that I wouldn't.  just you wait and see.).  These are Buddhist parables.

Ah HA!  Take that!  I bet you didn't see that coming.  Look at me all sly and sneaky.  And arrogant and full of himself.  And really not all that clever anyway.  Hmm, that de-escalated quickly.

These parables have to do with perception.  Specifically, the perception of our problems.  It often becomes our purpose in life to focus on our problems and figuring out how to not have them.  This can be super depressing.  

On that note, I give you these two parables as food for thought.  Take them as you will.  If you don't like them, that's ok.  I didn't write them.  I'm simply plagiarizing(which reminds me of a story for another time).  Of course, if I'm telling you, is it really plagiarizing?  Hmm...

On that note I give you first "The Parable of the 84th Problem."

A once well-to-do farmer had heard that the Buddha was a wonderful teacher and went to see him, seeking resolution to a set of distressing problems.

“I’m a landowner,” he told the Buddha, “And I love to watch my people working in the fields and to see my crops grow. But last summer we had a drought and nearly starved. This summer, we had too much rain and some of my crops did poorly.” The Buddha listened and nodded compassionately.

“I have a wife too. She’s a good woman and a wonderful wife. But sometimes she nags me. To tell the truth, sometimes I grow tired of her.” Again, the Buddha nodded.

“I have three children. Two are basically good, and I am very proud of them. But sometimes these two refuse to listen to me or pay me the respect I deserve. My oldest son is not so good. He drinks far too much and now he’s wandered off . He’s been gone a year and I don’t know where he is or even if he’s alive.” The man began to cry and the Buddha’s face filled with compassion.

The farmer carried on like this for another hour. When he had exhausted himself, he turned to the Buddha and said, “Please tell me what to do,” fully expecting to receive an answer that would solve all his problems.

“I cannot help you,” replied the Buddha.

“What do you mean ?” the farmer retorted.

“Everyone has problems,” the Buddha replied. “In fact, everyone has eighty-three problems. You may solve one now and then, but another is sure to take its place. Everything is subject to change. Life is impermanent. Everything you have built will return to dust; everyone you love is going to die. You, yourself, are going to die someday. Therein dwells the problem of all problems, and there is nothing you can do about it.”

The farmer was chagrined. “What kind of teaching is this? How can it possibly help me?”

“Perhaps it will help you with the eighty-fourth problem,” answered the Buddha.

“What is the eighty-fourth problem?” asked the farmer anxiously.

“The problem of not wanting the other 83 problems,” replied the Buddha.

And also, I give you "The Parable of Kisa Gotami."

Kisa Gotami was the wife of a wealthy man of Savatthi. After losing her only child, Kisa Gotami became desperate and asked if anyone can help her. Her sorrow was so great that many thought she had already lost her mind. 

An old man told her to meet Buddha. 

Buddha told her that before he could bring the child back to life, she should find white mustard seeds from a family where no one had died. She desperately went from house to house, but to her disappointment, she could not find a house that had not suffered the death of a family member. Finally the realization struck her that there is no house free from mortality.

She returned to the Buddha who then comforted her.

So there you have it.  

I like these parables because they give a pretty accurate presentation about how we view the things in our lives that cause problems or trouble or other issues related to troubles and problems and despair.

I won't lecture, I'll let you reflect.  But I will leave you with one more quote.  No, not from Jesus or Buddha, although they both have some great things to say about such things.  Instead, it will be from Captain Jack Sparrow.

"The problem is not the problem.  The problem is your attitude about the problem."

Hmm... indeed.