Musings From A Young Man's Soul

Below are a series of short stories and koans that have emerged from my soul somewhere along the line in the definition of the self. Some of them still hold true to their intended meanings, while others seem trite, and still others don't really make any sense at all, regardless of where you are on the path.

Still, they exist for others to find their own meaning within the words. It's not important what I intended, as obvious as some of these nuggets of wisdom seem. They only have value if they illuminate a little of your own path.

They appear here as originally written, warts and all. Their unpolished nature represents where I was on the path, and should be left as an untouched marker in my continued growth in this life.

REVENGE
A man who tries to throw a flame at his enemy only succeeds in burning his hand.

WAITING
A young man approached a jester who was staring into the sky while holding his hands out. Behind the jester on the ground lie three round balls. The young man asked, "What are you waiting for?"
The jester replied, "I am a juggler and I am waiting for my balls to return from the sky."

ONE-SIDEDNESS
All of the monks in the monastery cared for the garden except the Abbott. He would enter the garden, cut the best flowers from the trees, and place them in a vase of water in his bedroom. Finally on day a monk asked, "Why do you take the best flowers from the trees?" "I use them to brighten my room," the Abbott replied. The monk responded, "But by leaving them on the trees you brighten ALL of our rooms." Upon hearing this the Abbott was immediately humbled.

"A man who tinkers with minor details will often miss the rising of the sun."

A young man approached a boy who was crying. "Why are you crying?" he asked. "I lost my toy." the boy responded. "Where did you lose it?" "I lost it in my backyard." With this the young man smiled. "Stop crying!" he said. "You did not lose your toy. You just cannot SEE it!"

"If people don't respect you, you must still respect them. Do not live your life through other people's karma."

PATIENCE
A student and his master went down to the side of the road one morning to sit and wait for the Buddha to pass by. After a few hours the student grew bored. He stood up, stretched his legs, looked in both directions but saw no sign of the Buddha.
He rejoined his master and waited a few more hours. The Buddha had yet to pass and the student stood up once again, this time in frustration. He stretched his legs and looked in both directions but saw no sign of the Buddha.
Begrudgingly he rejoined his master. Finally, just before sunset, the master suddenly smiled, stood up, and turned to leave. The student was furious.
"Now you decide to leave?! After we have waited here all day for the Buddha?! Why did you not leave earlier when you saw that the Buddha was not coming?"
The master calmly addressed him. "The Buddha just passed by. Why weren't you paying attention?"

FRIENDSHIP
There were two monks that shared a garden. They tilled the soil, planted the seeds, and watered the flowers. One day the first monk noticed that one of the rose bushes had died. He immediately went to the second monk and asked, "Why did you let this rose bush die? Did you not love and care for it the same as I?"
"I did not let this rose bush die, for I love and care the same as you," the second monk responded. Some time later the second monk noticed that another part of the garden had died. He immediately went to the first monk with pain in his heart.
"Look what has happened! You have let another part of the garden die. Do you not love and care for it the same as I?" he asked.
"I did not let it die, for I love and care the same as you." the first monk responded.
Little by little the garden died, until there was nothing left but barren ground. The two monks parted, neither realizing that the beauty of nature contains both LIFE and DEATH.

"To catch the sea, you must first calm the wind."

"Be still with the wind."

"Do not make light of other people's insecurities; What may be light to you may be heavy to them. They don't need the extra pounds."

"When you look at the clouds, do they move or do you?"

"A man who seeks to define himself in the face of others becomes lost among the crowd."

"You cannot put out a fire if you keep lighting matches."

"If you do not act on destiny, destiny will act on you."

"There is no line between good and evil, they are one in the same. But the question remains, which do you want to be?"