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The gods were once disputing whether it was possible for a living being to change its nature.
Jupiter said “Yes,” but Venus said “No.” So, to try the question, Jupiter turned a Cat into a Maiden, and gave her to a young man for a wife. The wedding was duly performed and the young couple sat down to the wedding-feast.
“See,” said Jupiter, to Venus, “how becomingly she behaves. Who could tell that yesterday she was but a Cat? Surely her nature is changed?”
“Wait a minute,” replied Venus, and let loose a mouse into the room. No sooner did the bride see this than she jumped up from her seat and tried to pounce upon the mouse.
“Ah, you see,” said Venus:
Aesop
Moral…you can not change the stripes on a tiger
have a zen filled day
(~_~)
Long time ago, when people didn’t know many things about nature and that included how to eat walnuts, a walnut tree grew by the road. It might have been planted there by someone for the benefit of other travelers or it could have grown there by chance, if you believe that anything in life can happen by chance.
One day a traveler passed by. He stopped by the old walnut tree to rest in its shade. Then he noticed the green fruits and tasted one of them only to spit it out in disgust with its bitterness.
Some time after he had gone another traveler passed by. He too sat under the tree and noticed the tooth marks on the fruit the first one had bitten.“This fruit must not be very tasty,” he thought. “But everything in this world has a purpose. It must be the hard heart that is to be eaten.” And he bit the hard shell but nearly broke a tooth in the process. He too walked away hungry.
Next came a traveler with a scholarly disposition. He studied the fruit carefully, first tasting the bitter skin, then scratching the hard shell until he came up with the idea to break the shell with a stone. That was rewarded with the tasty walnut. The scholar smiled contently: “Wisdom and patience conquer all,” he thought.
Soon a businessman leading a donkey laden with his goods arrived under the tree. The scholar happily shared with him his secret.The businessman thanked him and after they had eaten loaded the donkey with walnuts for sale. He let the scholar ride the donkey as a reward
for his discovery while he himself walked and rubbed his palms in anticipation of his future profit.
They traveled in silence but soon darkness fell over the road. They were worried because there wasn’t a town or village to be seen and they were afraid to spend the night in the dark forest.Suddenly the merchant saw a faint light in the distance.
“There,” he said. “I see a light!”
“But how can that faint light help us,” said the scholar. “It is so small and lonely while the forest is big, dark and threatening.”
While they were arguing, the light moved closer and they saw a man carrying a lantern. That man was a philosopher who lived in a hut by a lake nearby. He took the travelers to his place to spend the night. As they entered the dark room, the small lantern pushed the scary shades in the corners. Now the room looked bright and cozy.
The inventive travelers shared with him the secret of the walnut tree.
“Well done!” said the philosopher. “Tomorrow, I’ll go and pick up some of those wonderful fruits. Then I will travel all over the world and plant a walnut tree by all roads that I pass.”
“But, then who will buy the walnuts that I am trying to sell!” said the businessman, disappointed.
“Don’t worry,” answered the philosopher. “When more people taste the walnuts from the trees by the roads they will be more likely to buy them from you in the city marketplace.”
“But what will be your reward for your labor?” asked the businessman.
“And how exactly do you plan to do it?” asked the scholar. “I mean how many walnuts will you start with and where you will plant them. Where you will start
your journey will you go East, West, North or South?”
“To tell you the truth, I don’t know,” answered the philosopher. “But as the light from my lantern is just enough for us to see the immediate road in front of us, my initial intention and desire will carry me perhaps to the next step on my way towards my humble goal. And if I meet someone else with a lantern, then together we will be able to see further.”
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Have a zen filled day
(!_!)
There was a clever man in a town. The people of the town respected him much for his cleverness. There was also a fool in the same town. People didn’t like him. Nobody was allowing him to sit with them. Fe was kept at arm’s length.
Once the fool decided to see the clever man to know why is he being appreciated. He went to his house. The clever man was alone in his house.
“Sir, you are alone here . How can you spend time by being lonely ? How can you tolerate?” the fool asked the wise.
“you have mistaken. I was not alone here. Till your arrival I had good company” replied the wise.
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(~_~)
I heard a really good quote while watching the “Kingsman.”
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have a zen filled day
(~_~)
A very touching love story that is sure to move anyone who reads it is that of Pyramus and Thisbe. Theirs was a selfless love and they made sure that even in death, they were together. Pyramus was the most handsome man and was childhood friend of Thisbe, the fairest maiden in Babylonia. They both lived in neighboring homes and fell in love with each other as they grew up together. However, their parents were dead against them marrying each other. So one night just before the crack of dawn, while everyone was asleep, they decided to slip out of their homes and meet in the nearby fields near a mulberry tree. Thisbe reached there first. As she waited under the tree, she saw a lion coming near the spring close by to quench its thirst. Its jaws were bloody. When Thisbe saw this horrifying sight, she panicked and ran to hide in some hollow rocks nearby. As she was running, she dropped her veil. The lion came near and picked up the veil in his bloody jaws. At that moment, Pyramus reaches near the mulberry tree and sees Thisbe’s veil in the jaws of the lion. He is completely devastated. Shattered, he pierces his chest with his own sword. Unknown to what just happened, Thisbe is still hiding in the rocks due to the fear of the lion. When she comes out after sometime, she sees what her lover did to himself. She is totally shattered when she sees the sword piercing right through her lover’s chest. She also takes the sword and kills herself.
Thisbe and Pyramus (link found here)
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happy valentines day 2015
(~_~)
I can’t begin to tell you about the week I had. (!_!) but this phrase came to mind many times this week.
“You can’t put the cart before the horse.”
Cart before the horse is an idiom expression or proverb used to suggest a conventional or culturally expected order or relationship.[1] A cart is a vehicle which is ordinarily pulled by a horse; and to put the cart before the horse is an analogy for doing things in the wrong order.[2] The figure of speech means doing things the wrong way round or with the wrong emphasis. The idiom is about confusing cause and effect (wiki)
Every one is like a different shade of color in a crayon box, some are just brighter than others.
you have to have compassion for the ignorant… for instance. I love my dog but it can not add one plus two!
(~_~)
Monk With No Name: Why do hot dogs come in packages of ten, but hot dog buns only come in packages of just eight?
Kar: What the hell is that?
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Kar: So, I figured it out, why hot dogs come in packages of ten and hot dog buns come in packages of eight. See, the thing is, life doesn’t always work out according to plan so be happy with what you’ve got, because you can always get a hot dog.
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Monk With No Name: Somehow I sense he has potential.
Jade: Really? I sense he’s mostly full of s***.
Monk With No Name: But rich manure can fertilize fields which will feed millions.
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It has been a long week at the prison. I came in last night, ate and curdled up into a movie,
“Bulletproof Monk.”
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(~_~)
have a zen filled day
The river has been up, since we had all the rain the last few weeks. I watched the logs drift by, one after another. I was driving to work and thought about this as it dawned on me that I was driving into the future, like the logs drifting into the next moment. When I got to work, I thought about this as I walked the long hall at the unit. I was stepping into the next moment with every step I took. Life is one continuous flow into the future. One moment at a time, heading to the final destination, where time will matter no more. Be absorbed in every step, embrace every second of life. We are all logs drifting down river, till we can drift no more.
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(~_~)
A long time ago there was a young samurai and his fiance who were deeply in love. One day his fiance was walking through the forest when she was attacked and seriously mauled by a man-eating tiger! No matter what the young samurai did, nothing could save her… and she died
From the depths of his sorrow he vowed to revenge his beloved, by seeking out the tiger and killing it.
So he took his bow and arrow and sought out into the forest, month after month in search of the man-eating beast. Searching daily in the forest, the samurai finally saw a sleeping tiger in the distance and concluded that this must be the tiger responsible for the death of his lover!
He drew his bow, took careful aim and released the arrow which found its mark and pierced the tiger’s body deeply. Drawing and mounting another arrow he slowly approached the motionless creature to confirm the kill… only to find his arrow stuck deeply into a striped colored stone which happened to resemble that of a sleeping tiger!
After this, everyone in the village began to talk about how strong he was, because he could pierce a stone with his arrow, and people became determined to test him. However, regardless of how many times he attempted to repeat the undertaking his arrows kept bouncing off the rock.
This was because he now realized that his target is only a stone. In the past his resolve had been so profound that he was actually able to physically pierce a stone with his arrow. However, now under different circumstances, he was unable to repeat the same feat.
Moral of the story?
“A strong will can even pierce stone”. In other words, resolve can serve as a powerful vehicle for achieving seemingly impossible things.
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have a zen filled day
(~_~)
The Story of Sasuke Sarutobi
Sasuke Sarutobi, one of the heroes of ninjutsu, was created in Tachikawa literature at the end of the meiji period. Up until that time, the general image of ninjutsu was related to black arts, witchcraft, magic, hobgoblins, thieves, and assassins. Sasuke was a mischievous boy. Books describe him as an innocent child with a strong sense of justice. In the stories, great importance was placed on humor, with actual combat considered secondary.
One day, Sasuke said to himself, “I’m already ten years old. It’s no longer practical for me to practice yatoo (a form of Kiai-spirit shout) with monkeys and deer. I’ll follow my father’s advice and seek a master swordsman to train me. I’m going to go to Okunoin in the Torie Pass to ask the gods to provide me with a good master.” When Sasuke arrived at Okunoin, he began playing among the clumps of trees rather than practicing yatto. Not satisfied with a stick, Sasuke grappled with a large tree, trying to twist is down. Then, he heard someone laughing at him.
Sasuke called, “Hey, who are you? I’m concentrating on fencing. Don’t you dare laugh at me. Come out here. I’ll not forgive you.” As he looked around, he saw an old man with swept-back long hair tied at the back of his head smiling at him. The man’s hair was as white as snow.
Sasuke asked, “Oh, you laughed at me, didn’t you, old man?”
The old man answered, “Yes I did.”
Sasuke asked him again fiercely, “Why did you laugh at me? Answer me. If there is no good reason, I’ll never forgive you even if you are an old man.”
The old man laughed and said, “Well, Sasuke, you were practicing with a tree, but this is like practicing with a dead enemy. You can’t improve your fencing that way. Do you want to learn fencing so badly?”
This was the age of civil wars, and only a few people could live to an old age. Therefore, Sasuke reasoned, an elderly fencing instructor was surely a master at martial arts.
Sasuke said, “Old man, are you a master of martial arts? I want to learn the secrets of martial arts.” “What are you going to do with them, after you learn them?” “I’ll be a strong swordsman and win fame and honor.”
“Wonderful. What an admirable goal for only a boy! All right. I’m going to five you a lesson in consideration of your zeal and determination.” Sasuke prostrated himself before the old man and thanked him. Then, Sasuke delivered a sword stroke to the old man. However, he had disappeared. Sasuke looked around nervously. Then, he was suddenly tripped by an attack from behind and fell flat on his face. The old man appeared suddenly in front of Sasuke with a smile. The old man taught Sasuke for the next three years.
He tried to teach him the godan or fifth-level secrets by saying, “Don’t you have your eyes in your back? How handicapped you are! “You’ll be a failure unless you know how to defend your weak point, even if you know the unguarded point of your opponent. The secret of defense in martial arts is to always be alert. “Unless one knows his own weak point, he can never be certain that the weak point of his opponent is not a decoy.”
In addition to ankokutoshijutsu techniques for seeing in the dark, Sasuke learned to listen for stealthy footsteps coming from more than thirty meters away. One day the old man handed a scroll to Sasuke and said to him, “Well, Sasuke, this is my parting gift, the rules of Ninjutsu. Carry it with you for life and behave prudently. When you are in combat with others or meet heroes and great men, you’ll never be beaten if you understand what is written in this scroll.” When the old man gave the scroll to Sasuke, he for the first time revealed his name as Hakuunsai Tozawa, and then disappeared.
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This story grabbed me for two reasons, one, I was born in Tachikawa and two, the name Sasuke, the name of the Japanese version of American Ninja Warrior.
Qualifying day in my area is March 28th, I plan on being there.
I was asked, “You have something to prove to yourself by doing this?” (At my age?) I thought about this and why I want to do this. It is because that is who I am. I am a ninja warrior at heart. I watched training videos on YouTube, and saw that I am not the only one who trains just to train. There are those who are amazing, flexible and have the ability to climb nearly anything. That is who they are, not that they are trying to prove they can do this. They do it everyday. It is a brotherhood of fit, warrior hearts with honor.
(I climb like a monkey, run like the wind and have the patience of a Bonsai tree. at 55 yrs old…
Sasuke, here I come!))
(~_~)
bows humble
zendictive 