Sunday, May 22, 2005

Can you drive with your head keep looking back?

There's an interesting story about 2 monks. They were about to cross a river and in front was a helpless woman trying to cross too. One monk decided to carry the woman on his shoulder and crossed. The other monk was shocked as monks were not supposed to have contact with women.

When they reached the other side of the river bank, the 1st monk left the woman there and continued their journey. The other monk was still shocked and complaint that the 1st monk should not have done that.

After an hour of non-stop nagging, the 1st monk finally broke the silence and said,"I have left the woman at the river bank but you still carry that thought till here!"

This is a good story about clinging to a passing moment. A 'passing moment' to me is an event that is very important during then but yet no impact on the future. In time management, we use to call that 'urgent but not important'. When I miss a turn, my most normal reaction is always a world standard...curse the country and all the ancestors! I realized all those agitation was actually meaningless and missing a turn was just another 'passing moment' like carrying the woman across the river.

If the moment is gone, why should our mind keep clinging to it. Isn't it better to translate the agitation into positive energy and look for the next solution (next u-turn)? Keep looking back (clinging) will not change anything but only slow down our life from progressing.

So, the next time your computer hangs, re-boot. Lost a bag? Buy. Miss an appointment? Re-arrange. Lost a friend? Befriend.

Happy Wesak Day!

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