Buddha seemed quite unruffled by the insults hurled at him by a visitor. When his disciples later asked him what the secret of his serenity was, he said: “Imagine what would happen if someone placed an offering before you and you did not pick it up. Or someone sent you a letter that you refused to open; you would be unaffected by its contents, would you not? Do this each time you are abused and you will not lose your serenity.”
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A man came upon a tall tower and stepped inside to find it all dark. As he groped around, he came upon a circular staircase. Curious to know where it led to, he began to climb, and as he climbed, he sensed a growing uneasiness in his heart.So he looked behind him and was horrified to see that each time he climbed a step, the previous one fell off and disappeared. Before him, the stairs wound upward and he had no idea where they led; behind him yawned an enormous black emptiness.
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King Pyrrhus of Epirus was approached by his friend Cyneas and asked, “If you conquer Rome, what will you do next, sir?”Pyrrhus replied, “Sicily is next door and will be easy to take.”“And what shall we do after Sicily is taken?”“Then we will move over to Africa and sack Carthage.”“And after Carthage, sir?”“The turn of Greece will come.”
“And what, may I ask, will the fruit of all these conquests be?”
“Then,” said Pyrrhus, “we can sit down and enjoy ourselves.”
“Can we not,” said Cyneas, “enjoy ourselves now?”
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Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond.
(~_~)
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8 comments
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November 14, 2012 at 10:00 am
Sue Dreamwalker
Yes the reaction to the problem is the problem!…. 🙂
Loved this post of serenity Art.. We often flit around life seeking and searching for this and that expecting life to suddenly get better.. When in fact if we sat down with ourselves long enough we would see we have everything in life to make it serene and happy now….
Peace to you my friend
Sue
November 14, 2012 at 7:01 pm
mobius faith
Great de Mello quote. Nice post.
November 17, 2012 at 9:35 am
Fergiemoto
Much truth here, Art! Some people are never happy with what they have and always want more and more.
November 17, 2012 at 11:33 am
Pocket Perspectives
Hi Art… I love that idea, the image of the staircase…I see it in terms of past, present and future…may I quote your story?…I’ll reference back to this post. I think it would take a positive spin on the focus on the present moment, that present step in the stairway, being the one to focus on…so a positive take on that….adding that to the end of your quote…. okay?
November 17, 2012 at 11:55 am
zendictive
of course (*_*) bows humble
November 17, 2012 at 1:34 pm
Pocket Perspectives
I’m over at PP, giving it a try….whew…a bit tricky, at times…such a helpful idea…thank you…. : )
November 17, 2012 at 1:41 pm
“A Disappearing Staircase…” ….living in this present moment | Pocket Perspectives
[…] I saw the following story on Art’s blog, zendictive, a post titled “serenity” an intriguing image …the disappearing […]
November 17, 2012 at 6:06 pm
ArticlesofAbsurdity
true