theme of the horse and two goats in 300 words
Answers
Explanation:
advice but she said she had nothing to add. As she was leaving
she said, “I have no answers for you but one thing I do know
is that one of you is Maitreya.” After she had left, the monks
all felt that what she had said was rather strange but in the
following days they began to give it more thought. Each one
thought something like, “Well, I know I am not Maitreya.
Who could it be? Could it be monk Yamada? Naa, he’s too
quiet and unassuming. Wait, who says the future Buddha
has to be assertive and an active teacher? Maybe what we
really need is a leader that teaches by example.” Another
monk had eliminated most of his fellow monks as being the
Future Buddha and said to himself, “That only leaves monk
Tanaka who is uneducated and has fun joking around all the
time. He can’t be the coming Maitreya… unless, he’s giving
us the lesson that we should all loosen up from the overly
pious seriousness that pervades the monastery. He’s the one
who joked that the worst translation error in our sacred sutra
was that the main word was not “celibate” but “celebrate!”
All the monks upon further reflection started looking at their
fellow monks in a different light. Not only did they start
giving each other the benefit of the doubt but actually began
appreciating the very traits that used to be irritating. Harmony
prevailed as the monks began to understand others rather than
clamor to be understood. As a result, relations improved with
the villagers and the monastery prospered.
As I was reading over my article, Dharma Dan commented,
“Be sure to point out how the teachings apply to one’s own
life.” Well, the best place to start is with one’s own family.
Stop taking your loved ones for granted.
Maybe the saying “Familiarity breeds
contempt” is too harsh; but for sure,
familiarity does dull admiration. To show
respect and appreciation, you should Gassho
to your spouse. If you find this difficult to
do, start by doing Gassho to the back of your spouse! As
Dharma Dan laughed, he added, “Since Autumn O-Higan is
coming in mid-September and is a time when spirituality is
deepened by reflecting upon crossing over to the other shore,
you should emphasize that it’s a time for real change.” I
said, “You just did!” And indeed, it starts with myself. So I
did Gassho to Dharma Dan and I’ll be darned if he didn’t
wink and nod his head.
SANGHA DHARMA continued from page 1
sunrise at Haleakala. On Kauai, we saw the Napoli Coastline,
Waimea Canyon and ate saimin at Hamura’s. On this trip,
one of the resident ministers at a temple I spoke at and whose
residence I stayed at, served pupu’s and local beers as we
kicked back at the end of the day. I always try to sample
new micro-brew beers when I travel. I enjoyed beers like
Long Board, Fire Rock, Big Wave, Koko Brown, Wailuku,
and I hadn’t known that the long-time local Primo beer had
been brought back.
I stocked up on dried sea food, Hersey Kisses with Mac
nuts, Kona coffee, shortbread cookies, and other local items;
some were gifts and others I got at the local Costco, Wal
Mart, and Longs Drug. At temple pot-lucks, I enjoyed fruit
like papaya, mango, and pineapple.
My eyes feasted on beautiful flowers, plants and amazing
trees. I collected and brought home Kukui nuts and some
other small nuts from other trees to make nenju (ojuzu) beads.
On Kauai I was taken to Spouting Horn where the incoming
ocean waves spout up many feet out of holes in the coral
shore. In the water and waves between the coral rocks, you
could see sea turtles when they came up for air. I love the
Hawaii symbol of sea turtles (honu); they are my symbol for
“keep going.” From a local vendor, I bought a turtle necklace
for my “better half.”
Returning home, I give a big shout-out Mahalo thanks
for all the hospitality I received during my visit to the Western
Paradise. My lei collection is growing! The greatest gift I
brought home was to Live Aloha. I made up a corny acronym
for Aloha: A(lways) L(ove) O(ne another); H(ow
much?) A (lot!).