The great Taoist Master Chaung Tzu once had a dream that he was a butterfly. He fluttered about with no awareness of his individuality as a person. He was only a butterfly.Suddenly he woke up and realized he was a person. He thought to himself,"Was I before a man who dreamt about being a butterfly, or am I now a butterfly who dreams about being a man?"
story borrowed with gratitude from: zen stories to tell your neighbors
image discovered with google images, and borrowed with gratitude from: ffxi.allakhazam.com/db/bestiary.html?fmob=4359
1 comment:
Hi Amy & Ken,
Thanks for sharing that. I love that link that you posted.
This is one of my favorites.
More Is Not Enough
The Stone Cutter
There was once a stone cutter who was dissatisfied
with himself and with his position in life.
One day he passed a wealthy merchant's house. Through
the open gateway, he saw many fine possessions and
important visitors. "How powerful that merchant must
be!" thought the stone cutter. He became very envious
and wished that he could be like the merchant.
To his great surprise, he suddenly became the
merchant, enjoying more luxuries and power than he had
ever imagined, but envied and detested by those less
wealthy than himself. Soon a high official passed by,
carried in a sedan chair, accompanied by attendants
and escorted by soldiers beating gongs. Everyone, no
matter how wealthy, had to bow low before the
procession. "How powerful that official is!" he
thought. "I wish that I could be a high official!"
Then he became the high official, carried everywhere
in his embroidered sedan chair, feared and hated by
the people all around. It was a hot summer day, so the
official felt very uncomfortable in the sticky sedan
chair. He looked up at the sun. It shone proudly in
the sky, unaffected by his presence. "How powerful the
sun is!" he thought. "I wish that I could be the sun!"
Then he became the sun, shining fiercely down on
everyone, scorching the fields, cursed by the farmers
and laborers. But a huge black cloud moved between him
and the earth, so that his light could no longer shine
on everything below. "How powerful that storm cloud
is!" he thought. "I wish that I could be a cloud!"
Then he became the cloud, flooding the fields and
villages, shouted at by everyone. But soon he found
that he was being pushed away by some great force, and
realized that it was the wind. "How powerful it is!"
he thought. "I wish that I could be the wind!"
Then he became the wind, blowing tiles off the roofs
of houses, uprooting trees, feared and hated by all
below him. But after a while, he ran up against
something that would not move, no matter how
forcefully he blew against it - a huge, towering rock.
"How powerful that rock is!" he thought. "I wish that
I could be a rock!"
Then he became the rock, more powerful than anything
else on earth. But as he stood there, he heard the
sound of a hammer pounding a chisel into the hard
surface, and felt himself being changed. "What could
be more powerful than I, the rock?" he thought.
He looked down and saw far below him the figure of a
stone cutter.
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