A rich man born out of giving!
There is a Japanese folk tale about the power of giving and it exemplifies how we can get the most wonderful of gifts when we're gifting things to others and are positive about what we have already got.
Here is the story.
A long time ago, there lived a penniless young farmer. Nothing that he did turned out to be profitable. He was completely impoverished without any money, without anyone to help and nothing to eat. One night, totally at his wit's end, he went to a shrine and sat near the altar and pleaded to Gods to show him what to do.
"I have always been truthful and assiduous, but all my industry never resulted in anything good for me. What did I do wrong?"
He slept at the feet of the deity after having put that question. In the morning, just as he woke up, one of the Gods of his dream appeared before him enveloped in a brilliant golden light. The voice of the God resounded in his mind.
"When you wake up today, treasure the very thing you have in your hand and keep giving it generously to others on your way," the God whispered.
The farmer woke up. He still had many questions jumping through his mind but he lifted himself up and tried to shake off the strangely vivid dream he just had. To his surprise, he saw a piece of straw in his hand. Maybe it was on his clothes after the long day of fieldwork.
He nearly dropped it to the ground, but stopped for a moment remembering what the God said. He sat down again. And looked at the straw.
He sat for a while unable to comprehend what all that meant. He did not know how a piece of straw can turn out to be useful. Then he saw a wasp hovering around. After a while the wasp settled on one end of his straw. He caught it and with the help of a thread from his clothes, tied it to the straw. And with a wasp at the end of his straw, he went on his way.
He had proceeded only a bit when he saw a woman and her child coming from the opposite direction. The child was crying. When he wished them, the boy saw the straw in the farmer's hand with a wasp dangling at the end. The child was curious and asked the farmer if he could have it. He was about to refuse when he remembered how God had told him to cherish what he had and also at the same time to give to others what he had. So he offered the straw to the child. The mother became happy since the child stopped crying because of the gift. In return for the straw the lady gave the man three tangerines.
The farmer moved on. As he proceeded, he felt hungry. He was about to eat the tangerines when he again remembered that what was important was giving things to others, not giving it to himself.
As he went over a steep hill, he saw a merchant sitting down on the ground by a tree. Next to him was a wooden box. The farmer said hello to the merchant. He seemed to be exhausted. The merchant saw the tangerines in the farmer's hand and asked if he minded giving him the tangerines. He said he was so thirsty.
The farmer was also equally thirsty as the day was hot and he had walked pretty long, still he gave all the three tangerines to the trader. The man ate all the three tangerines and felt fully energized. He felt very thankful to the farmer who was so kind. To show his gratitude, he opened the box that he had kept near him. The box contained several bolts of hand dyed silk. The trader took out one roll, gifted it to the farmer and left.
So off the farmer went again following the path. He found a stream along the way and he took a deep drink making him feel totally refreshed. Life seemed to be easier and was flowing now.
He walked for some more time but did not come across anyone else. He felt that the silk might be that which would bring him something good. So he chose to go to a town in the vicinity and trade the fabric.
But as soon as he turned the corner, he found a group of soldiers. One of them, who appeared to be the leader of the group, was standing near a horse that had fallen on the ground. The leader of the soldiers was saying something to the men of his group.
"It does not appear that this horse would live much. We will have to leave it here. Nurse it well and catch up with me." With this the leader jumped on to another horse and rode off, moving out of people's sight.
The fighters who remained there conferred among themselves as to what to do. They had no interest in putting it to death but there was no other option. Finally one of them drew the sword.
The farmer quickly ran over to them and asked them to stop. He said he would like to look after the horse. He also offered the silk fabric to the warriors. They jumped at the offer and took off very quickly.
The farmer stood there with the horse that was in its death throes. He felt he might have got it all wrong and that he was not destined to be wealthy. Then he thought of the river that he had come across on the way.
He turned back and went to the river, removed his shirt and immersed it in the river to get water for the horse. He went back to the animal lying on the earth and pressed the water out of the shirt gently into its mouth. As the water went inside drop by drop, the animal slowly got recharged and finally the farmer was able to help it stand up.
Once the horse could stand, the farmer was able to take it to the river. The horse drank directly from the river and the farmer also led it to the patches of grass nearby. Very soon the animal was rejuvenated.
The farmer now had a companion. They journeyed together, the horse in front, and the farmer panting behind to keep up with it. They traveled for miles in that manner. At last, as the sun was about to set, the animal came to a stop just in front of a rather big house. When the farmer drew alongside, the horse pushed him in the direction of the gate with its snout.
When the farmer moved towards it, the gates opened and an old man came out of the house. The old man had dashed out of the house and he looked wan. He spotted the horse and the farmer, both just in front of the house.
The old man asked the farmer what it was that he needed. The farmer said that he wanted a place where he could sleep at night. The old man queried the farmer if he would mind looking after the house till his return as he had to leave for the nearby town on a pressing matter. He also said that it might take some time for him to return.
The old man looked as if he was in a hurry, so the farmer told him he can take his horse. The old man was very grateful about it and immediately left with the horse. As he left, he said something totally unexpected to the farmer.
"If I do not come back in three years' time, this house belongs to you."
As you probably guessed, the old man never returned.
The farmer stayed in the big house for the remainder of his life with a land that yielded a rich harvest and had friendly neighbours. And he always remembered to give away whatever he had.
Thank you for going through this story. And what is the message that it contains?
Maybe there is a key to something. When we can turn our 'getting game' into a 'giving game', our life often flows bringing more abundance. But it is not always easy to practice the old wisdom in our real life.
Given below are the remarkable factors that we can glean from the story:
* When we are willing to provide what others want, their value for it enhances more than when we are trying to 'barter' it (as mostly we hope to get something out of it) since they compare the price with what we expect for it and would obviously pay less.
* When we are not possessive of whatever we have, we will perceive that we thereby have more chances as we can release the existing possessions.
* When what life offers is not a bed of roses, instead of concentrating on the difficulty if we kept our attention on giving and sharing, life is sure to bring in good things later.
* When we try to encash what we have created, believing that "this is the maximum it will bring", as we think we might be the loser if it is not turned into cash, our life will stagnate. Instead of that, we should continue to give liberally whatever we have got and however wealthy we are or we are not.
Giving is intrinsic in the lives of many who have made it to the top. When giving is done first, we are better able to lead a life of grandeur, comfort and glory. - 31955
There is a Japanese folk tale about the power of giving and it exemplifies how we can get the most wonderful of gifts when we're gifting things to others and are positive about what we have already got.
Here is the story.
A long time ago, there lived a penniless young farmer. Nothing that he did turned out to be profitable. He was completely impoverished without any money, without anyone to help and nothing to eat. One night, totally at his wit's end, he went to a shrine and sat near the altar and pleaded to Gods to show him what to do.
"I have always been truthful and assiduous, but all my industry never resulted in anything good for me. What did I do wrong?"
He slept at the feet of the deity after having put that question. In the morning, just as he woke up, one of the Gods of his dream appeared before him enveloped in a brilliant golden light. The voice of the God resounded in his mind.
"When you wake up today, treasure the very thing you have in your hand and keep giving it generously to others on your way," the God whispered.
The farmer woke up. He still had many questions jumping through his mind but he lifted himself up and tried to shake off the strangely vivid dream he just had. To his surprise, he saw a piece of straw in his hand. Maybe it was on his clothes after the long day of fieldwork.
He nearly dropped it to the ground, but stopped for a moment remembering what the God said. He sat down again. And looked at the straw.
He sat for a while unable to comprehend what all that meant. He did not know how a piece of straw can turn out to be useful. Then he saw a wasp hovering around. After a while the wasp settled on one end of his straw. He caught it and with the help of a thread from his clothes, tied it to the straw. And with a wasp at the end of his straw, he went on his way.
He had proceeded only a bit when he saw a woman and her child coming from the opposite direction. The child was crying. When he wished them, the boy saw the straw in the farmer's hand with a wasp dangling at the end. The child was curious and asked the farmer if he could have it. He was about to refuse when he remembered how God had told him to cherish what he had and also at the same time to give to others what he had. So he offered the straw to the child. The mother became happy since the child stopped crying because of the gift. In return for the straw the lady gave the man three tangerines.
The farmer moved on. As he proceeded, he felt hungry. He was about to eat the tangerines when he again remembered that what was important was giving things to others, not giving it to himself.
As he went over a steep hill, he saw a merchant sitting down on the ground by a tree. Next to him was a wooden box. The farmer said hello to the merchant. He seemed to be exhausted. The merchant saw the tangerines in the farmer's hand and asked if he minded giving him the tangerines. He said he was so thirsty.
The farmer was also equally thirsty as the day was hot and he had walked pretty long, still he gave all the three tangerines to the trader. The man ate all the three tangerines and felt fully energized. He felt very thankful to the farmer who was so kind. To show his gratitude, he opened the box that he had kept near him. The box contained several bolts of hand dyed silk. The trader took out one roll, gifted it to the farmer and left.
So off the farmer went again following the path. He found a stream along the way and he took a deep drink making him feel totally refreshed. Life seemed to be easier and was flowing now.
He walked for some more time but did not come across anyone else. He felt that the silk might be that which would bring him something good. So he chose to go to a town in the vicinity and trade the fabric.
But as soon as he turned the corner, he found a group of soldiers. One of them, who appeared to be the leader of the group, was standing near a horse that had fallen on the ground. The leader of the soldiers was saying something to the men of his group.
"It does not appear that this horse would live much. We will have to leave it here. Nurse it well and catch up with me." With this the leader jumped on to another horse and rode off, moving out of people's sight.
The fighters who remained there conferred among themselves as to what to do. They had no interest in putting it to death but there was no other option. Finally one of them drew the sword.
The farmer quickly ran over to them and asked them to stop. He said he would like to look after the horse. He also offered the silk fabric to the warriors. They jumped at the offer and took off very quickly.
The farmer stood there with the horse that was in its death throes. He felt he might have got it all wrong and that he was not destined to be wealthy. Then he thought of the river that he had come across on the way.
He turned back and went to the river, removed his shirt and immersed it in the river to get water for the horse. He went back to the animal lying on the earth and pressed the water out of the shirt gently into its mouth. As the water went inside drop by drop, the animal slowly got recharged and finally the farmer was able to help it stand up.
Once the horse could stand, the farmer was able to take it to the river. The horse drank directly from the river and the farmer also led it to the patches of grass nearby. Very soon the animal was rejuvenated.
The farmer now had a companion. They journeyed together, the horse in front, and the farmer panting behind to keep up with it. They traveled for miles in that manner. At last, as the sun was about to set, the animal came to a stop just in front of a rather big house. When the farmer drew alongside, the horse pushed him in the direction of the gate with its snout.
When the farmer moved towards it, the gates opened and an old man came out of the house. The old man had dashed out of the house and he looked wan. He spotted the horse and the farmer, both just in front of the house.
The old man asked the farmer what it was that he needed. The farmer said that he wanted a place where he could sleep at night. The old man queried the farmer if he would mind looking after the house till his return as he had to leave for the nearby town on a pressing matter. He also said that it might take some time for him to return.
The old man looked as if he was in a hurry, so the farmer told him he can take his horse. The old man was very grateful about it and immediately left with the horse. As he left, he said something totally unexpected to the farmer.
"If I do not come back in three years' time, this house belongs to you."
As you probably guessed, the old man never returned.
The farmer stayed in the big house for the remainder of his life with a land that yielded a rich harvest and had friendly neighbours. And he always remembered to give away whatever he had.
Thank you for going through this story. And what is the message that it contains?
Maybe there is a key to something. When we can turn our 'getting game' into a 'giving game', our life often flows bringing more abundance. But it is not always easy to practice the old wisdom in our real life.
Given below are the remarkable factors that we can glean from the story:
* When we are willing to provide what others want, their value for it enhances more than when we are trying to 'barter' it (as mostly we hope to get something out of it) since they compare the price with what we expect for it and would obviously pay less.
* When we are not possessive of whatever we have, we will perceive that we thereby have more chances as we can release the existing possessions.
* When what life offers is not a bed of roses, instead of concentrating on the difficulty if we kept our attention on giving and sharing, life is sure to bring in good things later.
* When we try to encash what we have created, believing that "this is the maximum it will bring", as we think we might be the loser if it is not turned into cash, our life will stagnate. Instead of that, we should continue to give liberally whatever we have got and however wealthy we are or we are not.
Giving is intrinsic in the lives of many who have made it to the top. When giving is done first, we are better able to lead a life of grandeur, comfort and glory. - 31955
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