Two Monks and a Woman
Two monks were walking in silence by a stream on their way home to the monastery. They were startled by the sound of a young woman in a bridal gown, sitting by the stream, crying softly. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she gazed across the water. She needed to cross in order to get to her wedding, but she was fearful that doing so might ruin her beautiful, handmade gown.
In his particular Buddhist sect, monks were prohibited from touching women but the elder monk was filled with compassion for the bride. Ignoring the sanction, he hoisted the woman onto his shoulders and carried her across the stream – assisting her journey and saving her gown. She smiled and bowed with gratitude as he noisily splashed his way back across the stream to rejoin his companion.
The second monk was livid. Having sworn an oath of silence for the duration of their journey back to the temple, the second monk silently fumed. Meanwhile, the senior monk’s mind wandered as he felt the warm sunshine and listened to the singing birds along the riverbank. After returning to the monastery, he fell asleep for a few hours.
He was jostled and awakened in the middle of the night by his fellow monk, who could no longer restrain himself and gushed forth his complaints. “How could you do that?” he scolded. “You know we are forbidden even to touch a woman, much less pick one up and carry her around!” his agitated friend cried out. “Someone else could have helped her across the stream. You were a bad monk!”
“What woman?” the tired monk inquired groggily.
“Don’t you even remember? That woman you carried across the stream,” his colleague snapped.
“Oh, her,” laughed the sleepy monk. “I only carried her across the stream. You carried her all the way back to the monastery.”
Which monk’s example do you follow? When something goes wrong, do you become fixated on it, allowing it to monopolize your thoughts and energy even after the incident has past as the second monk did, or do you let it go like the first monk? Everyone faces hardships during their day, but whether you allow it to consume you or whether you choose to move on is up to you.
In his particular Buddhist sect, monks were prohibited from touching women but the elder monk was filled with compassion for the bride. Ignoring the sanction, he hoisted the woman onto his shoulders and carried her across the stream – assisting her journey and saving her gown. She smiled and bowed with gratitude as he noisily splashed his way back across the stream to rejoin his companion.
The second monk was livid. Having sworn an oath of silence for the duration of their journey back to the temple, the second monk silently fumed. Meanwhile, the senior monk’s mind wandered as he felt the warm sunshine and listened to the singing birds along the riverbank. After returning to the monastery, he fell asleep for a few hours.
He was jostled and awakened in the middle of the night by his fellow monk, who could no longer restrain himself and gushed forth his complaints. “How could you do that?” he scolded. “You know we are forbidden even to touch a woman, much less pick one up and carry her around!” his agitated friend cried out. “Someone else could have helped her across the stream. You were a bad monk!”
“What woman?” the tired monk inquired groggily.
“Don’t you even remember? That woman you carried across the stream,” his colleague snapped.
“Oh, her,” laughed the sleepy monk. “I only carried her across the stream. You carried her all the way back to the monastery.”
Which monk’s example do you follow? When something goes wrong, do you become fixated on it, allowing it to monopolize your thoughts and energy even after the incident has past as the second monk did, or do you let it go like the first monk? Everyone faces hardships during their day, but whether you allow it to consume you or whether you choose to move on is up to you.
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