A Free eBook - Dhamma Lessons from 5 Dhammapada Stories.pdf
Story to Reflect Upon 145, 146
1. Story To
Reflect
Upon 145
Flame oF love
The Axe declared proudly, “I can overcome it. I can
master it.” With these words, he struck many heavy
blows on the very hard and strong steel. However,
each blow only made his edge more blunt. Finally he
gave up and stopped the striking.
The Saw stepped in and said, “Don’t worry, leave it
to me to handle the steel.” With his sharp teeth, the
Saw relentlessly worked on the steel back and forth.
How pathetic! To his dismay, all of his teeth were
worn out or broken off and the steel did not yield.
The Hammer laughed loudly, “Ho! Ho! I knew you
all could not do it. Let me show you how.” To
everyone’s amusement, with the very first blow, the
head of the Hammer flew off and the steed remained
unchanged.
The Flame humbly asked, “May I try?’ And it curled
itself gently around the strong and hard steel; he
embraced it tightly and would not let go. The tough
steel melted.
Reflection
* There are hearts that are hard enough to resist
the forces of wrath or the fury of pride.
But hard is the heart that can resist the warm
"flame of Love".
2. Story To
Reflect
Upon 146
Creative Strategy
One sunny morning, a blind man was sitting along the side
pavement of a large building. In front of him by his feet
was a begging bowl. There was a sign near the bowl and it
read: “I AM BLIND. PLEASE HELP.”
A kind-hearted and highly creative man walked past the
beggar and he noticed that there were only a few coins in
the bowl. Few passers-by had stopped to help. The man
took out from his pocket some coins and put them into the
beggar’s bowl. Without asking the beggar for permission,
he then took the sign, turned it around and wrote a new
announcement on it. He then put the sign back into its
place and walked away.
In the afternoon, the kind man returned to the place
where the beggar was. He was very happy to see that the
beggar’s bowl was now full of money – coins and some
dollar notes.
The beggar recognized the footsteps of the kind man and
he asked, “Sir, was it you who rewrote my sign?” “Yes my
friend,” the kind man told the beggar. “May I know what
it was that you wrote on my sign that made a difference to
my begging?”
"Nothing that was not true. I just rewrote your sign
differently". The kind man smiled and went on his way.
The blind man never knew but his new sign read:
"TODAY IS SPRING AND I CANNOT SEE IT."
Reflections
* Kind acts of charity are most praiseworthy. They go a long
way to help those in need.
* Divergent and creative thinking are important to bring results
to a cause or a cry for help.
"TODAY IS
SPRING AND I
CANNOT SEE
IT."