[world-vedic] The Stone Cutters Story

[Guest guest]

>Vrinda

>The Stone Cutters Story

>Mon, 19 Jul 1999 10:24:24 EDT

>

>

>

>THE STONECUTTER

>

>There was once a stonecutter who was dissatisfied with

>himself and with his position in life. One day, he passed

>a wealthy merchant's house and through the open gateway

>saw many fine possessions and important visitors. "How

>powerful that merchant must be!" thought the stonecutter.

>He became very envious, and wished that he could be like

>the merchant. That he would no longer have to live the

>life of a mere stonecutter. To his great surprise,

>he suddenly became the merchant, enjoying more luxuries

>and power than he had ever dreamed of. He was 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, who

>had to bow down before him as he passed. It was a hot summer

>day, and 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. 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, hated

>and feared by all below him. After a while, he ran up against

>something that would not move, no matter how forcefully he blew

>against it - a huge, towering stone.

>

>"How powerful that stone is!" he thought. "I wish that I could

>be a stone!" Then he became the stone, more powerful than

>anything else on earth. As he stood there, he heard the sound

>of a hammer pounding a chisel into the solid rock and felt himself

>being changed. "What could be more powerful than I, the stone?"

>he thought. He looked down and saw far below him the figure of

>a stonecutter.

>

>The Moral(s) to this story:

>

>(1) Why waste our time in envy, ambition and the search for power

>(ultimately all forms of mundane temporal sense gratification)

>(2) punar musika baba - again become a dissatisfied mouse

>(3) the only constant in the material world is change

>(4) learn to appreciate the value and inter-active dependency we all have

>under God

>(5) permanent situations are not available in a temporary realm

>

>..I'm sure that you can think of heaps of others too !!!

======================================================================

A Joke! Are we snakes?

Deadly Snakes

Two snakes were crawling along when one snake asked the other, "Are we

poisonous snakes?"

The other replied, "You're darn right we are! We're rattlesnakes. Why do

you ask?"To which the first replied, "Darn, I just bit my tongue."

>

 

 

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