The axe or a donation...
So to the new financial year
Do we think this year will be any different from the last or the one before or even the one before that?
It may take twenty years before we change our ways
Many years ago there were two friends and they did everything together
They lived next door to each other
They sat next to each-other at school and when they left school they got a job at the same shop
They bought the business together and had no time for women or to get married
They even went on holidays together
They travelled to smart foreign cities
They had no time for cultivation or even to think of the Buddha
They gave no donations to any charity of went to any Temple
On one of their many trips they came to an inn and asked the owner for food and lodging
The owner asked if they were Buddhists and if they would like vegetarian food
The reply came sharply and they said they wanted meat and drink and be quick and they didn't bother with such rubbish and didn't want to know the Buddha
The owner left them sitting at a table waiting for service
All of a sudden the owner came rushing back into the dining room looking most fierce with a large axe in his hand
He shouted at the two that he would kill them for their money and jewels and if they knew any prayers now is the time to pray
They fell to their knees and cried
Help us Lord Buddha
Save us Lord Buddha
We will dedicate our lives to you Lord Buddha just don't let this monster kill us
We are too young to die
The owner hearing their prayers put down his axe and smiled
I am sorry to frighten you so
Just relax now
I am not going to kill you
Let me tell you a story
Twenty years ago Buddhists Monks visited here with a famous Master
They were on their way to open the great Temple that stands not far from here
The Master became very ill whilst he was here with a serious heart disorder
The Monks asked if they could stay whilst the Master recovered
Unfortunately he didn't recover and just before he died he asked to see me
He told me that in the future two non believers would come to this inn and when they did I was to threaten to kill them with an axe
The Master then passed away before he could say more
You are the only two that have asked to stay and are the only non believers we have seen here in twenty years
So I threatened you as the Master asked
We have seen the light the two friends said
The Buddha has saved us
We will now go to the Temple and share our wealth and dedicate our lives to the Buddha
We don't know what caused the Master to say his final words to a stranger about killing two friends in the distant future
We do know that twenty years after the Master passed the Temple needed a new roof as a storm had damaged it and we do know that all the Temples money had been used to help the local villagers from starving after the storms
We do know that the two helped the Temple with a new roof and replaced all the money used to feed the locals
We do know that Heaven and Karma work in mysterious ways
Our thoughts at this time must be with the unfortunate and our spare coins used to benefit others
We don't know if in twenty years time we will be threatened by an inn keeper with an axe
Nathan
Sent from my iPhone and
http://www.dharmamaster.com
With love
