A respected monk arrived at the gates of a King's grand palace. Due to his great fame, none of the guards dared to halt him as he entered the hall where the King was seated on his throne. The following conversation ensued.
King: Dear Venerable Sir, how may I assist you?
Monk: I would like somewhere to spend the night in this inn.
King: You have mistaken! This is no inn - it's my palace!
Monk: Who owned this place before you?
King: My late father.
Monk: And who ruled it before him?
King: My grandfather, who is also deceased.
Monk: If this is where people come to live only for a while before leaving, why is it not an inn?
King: I am so sorry! This is indeed an inn. Your stay is most welcome!
The monk had wanted to remind the King of the irrefutable truth of transience, of all things material and even mental, of the fleeting nature of his life, wealth and status - despite wielding great power. Similar to the King, wherever we live, be it a big house or a small apartment, is like a hotel. Even the most valuable material things within are but items in a hotel, temporally 'loaned' to us for use. As much as we might wish to live in this hotel forever, we can never - unless we realise the path to transcend the cycle of life and death. Even this body that we have, which we think is ours to rule over is a hotel which we live in, for usually less than a hundred more years! If so, may we use 'our' body wisely and share 'our' posessions kindly! - Shen Shi'an
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment