A
senior monk and a junior monk were traveling together. At one point, they came
to a river with a strong current. As the monks were preparing to cross the
river, they saw a very young and beautiful woman also attempting to cross. The
young woman asked if they could help her cross to the other side.
The
two monks glanced at one another because they had taken vows not to touch a
woman.
Then,
without a word, the older monk picked up the woman, carried her across the
river, placed her gently on the other side, and carried on his �journey.
The younger monk couldn’t believe what had just happened. After rejoining his
companion, he was speechless, and an hour passed without a word between
themselves. Two more hours passed, then three, finally the younger monk could
contain himself any longer, and blurted out “As monks, we are not permitted a
woman, how could you then carry that woman on your shoulders?”
The older monk looked at him and replied, “Brother, I set her down on the other side of the river, why are you still carrying her.
This
simple Zen story has a beautiful message about living in the present moment.
How often do we carry around past hurts, holding onto resentments when the only
person we are really hurting is ourselves. We all go through times in life when
other people say things or behave in a way that is hurtful towards us. We can
chose to ruminate over past actions or events, but it will ultimately weigh us
down and sap our energy. Instead we can choose to let go of what doesn’t serve
us anymore and concentrate on the present moment. Until we can find a level of
peace and happiness in the present circumstances of our lives, we will never be
content, because ‘now’ is all we will ever have.
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