A rich man born out of giving!
There is an old historical Japanese tale about giving and it shows how we can receive the most extraordinary gifts when we're giving and appreciative of what we already have.
Here is the story.
Once upon a time, there was a poor young farmer. Everything he did in his life never seemed to produce any wealth for him. He was totally broke with no money, no family and no food. So one night he sneaked into a temple and sat by the altar and in desperation asked the Gods what he was supposed to do.
"I have always been sincere and industrious, but all my industriousness never became beneficial to me. Where have I gone wrong?"
He fell asleep near the altar just after he put the question. When he woke up in the morning, he saw in front of him one of the Gods he had seen in his dream, with a bright golden light around him. The God's voice reverberated in his mind.
"When you wake up in the morning, cherish what you have in your hand and go on giving it to others liberally as you proceed," the God commanded.
The farmer opened his eyes. There were many things that he wanted to ask but he managed to pull himself up and tried to remove the confusion of the strange dream. But there seemed to be a piece of straw in his hand. It must have remained stuck on his dress while he worked in his land.
He was about to throw the straw away, but remembered what God had told him. Once again he sat down. Then he looked curiously at the bit of straw.
He sat for a long while wondering what that meant. He had no idea how a broken bit of a straw can be of any use to him. Suddenly he saw a wasp buzzing around. The wasp soon alighted on the tip of the straw. He caught hold of the wasp and bound it to the straw with a piece of string from his dress. Thus with a piece of straw with a wasp at one end, he proceeded.
He had proceeded only a bit when he saw a woman and her child coming from the opposite direction. The child was crying. When he wished them, the boy saw the straw in the farmer's hand with a wasp dangling at the end. The child was curious and asked the farmer if he could have it. He was about to refuse when he remembered how God had told him to cherish what he had and also at the same time to give to others what he had. So he offered the straw to the child. The mother became happy since the child stopped crying because of the gift. In return for the straw the lady gave the man three tangerines.
The farmer moved on. As he proceeded, he felt hungry. He was about to eat the tangerines when he again remembered that what was important was giving things to others, not giving it to himself.
The farmer was going over a steep hill and on the way he saw a merchant sitting under a tree. The man had a wooden box near him. The farmer wished the man. He appeared to be very tired. He saw the tangerines the farmer held and asked him if he would give it to him. The merchant told the farmer that he was very thirsty.
The farmer was as thirsty as the trader as he had been walking for long on that hot day. Nevertheless, he offered the tangerines to the trader, who then ate all the three tangerines and felt recharged. He felt very happy about the help rendered to him and opened the wooden box that was by his side. Inside the box were rolls of silk that was dyed with hand. The merchant gifted the farmer one roll and proceeded on his way.
So off the farmer went again following the path. He found a stream along the way and he took a deep drink making him feel totally refreshed. Life seemed to be easier and was flowing now.
The farmer walked and walked not seeing anyone for a long time. He started to think that maybe this was it - his fortune. So, he decided to go to the nearby town to sell the fabric.
But as soon as he turned the corner, he found a group of soldiers. One of them, who appeared to be the leader of the group, was standing near a horse that had fallen on the ground. The leader of the soldiers was saying something to the men of his group.
"It does not appear that this horse would live much. We will have to leave it here. Nurse it well and catch up with me." With this the leader jumped on to another horse and rode off, moving out of people's sight.
The fighters who remained there conferred among themselves as to what to do. They had no interest in putting it to death but there was no other option. Finally one of them drew the sword.
The farmer quickly ran over to them and asked them to stop. He said he would like to look after the horse. He also offered the silk fabric to the warriors. They jumped at the offer and took off very quickly.
With the dying horse by his side, the farmer just remained there. He wondered if he had done things wrongly and whether he would never become rich. Suddenly he remembered the river he had seen on the way.
He immediately went back to the stream, took off his shirt and soaked it in the fresh water so he could give water to horse. He returned to the horse still lying there on the ground. The farmer squeezed the wet cloth over the horse's mouth. Very soon the horse began to respond and regained its consciousness, so the farmer pulled it up with all his might.
The horse finally stood up on its legs so the farmer could take the horse to the stream. As the horse took more water and ate some fresh green grass around the stream, it soon began to regain strength.
Now the farmer had a horse! They set off again together, this time the man had to run to keep up. The horse was actually leading the way. They ran together for miles. As the sun starting to go down, the horse finally stopped in front of a large house. As the farmer caught up, the horse pushed him with his nose to the entrance of the house.
As the farmer made his way to the gate, all of a sudden the gate opened and an old man was standing there. The man looked drawn and he was hastening out onto the road. The old man took notice of the farmer as well as the animal standing nearby.
The man queried the farmer what he wanted. The farmer replied that he was in need of a place to retire for the night. The old man in his turn said that he had to go to the town on an important matter and requested the farmer to be in charge of the house till such time that he returned. He said that his returning might get delayed.
As the old man seemed to be in a hurry, the farmer offered him the horse. The old man appreciated the generous offer and took off with the horse. As he was leaving, he said something peculiar to the farmer.
"If I do not come back in three years' time, this house belongs to you."
As you probably guessed, the old man never returned.
The farmer lived in the large house for the rest of his life with a land full of crops surrounded by kind neighbors happily ever after. But he never forgot to always give away the things he had.
Thank you for going through this story. And what is the message that it contains?
There is always a pattern to things. If the venture of getting can be converted into the venture of giving, our life would pour forth with greater profusion. But it may be a bit difficult to make this ancient wisdom a part of our lives.
The following are the interesting principles we can see in the tale:
* When we are willing to provide what others want, their value for it enhances more than when we are trying to 'barter' it (as mostly we hope to get something out of it) since they compare the price with what we expect for it and would obviously pay less.
* When we are not possessive of whatever we have, we will perceive that we thereby have more chances as we can release the existing possessions.
* When life seems to deal us a bad hand, instead of focusing on the problem if instead we focused on giving and caring, life seems to end up bringing better luck later.
* When we try to encash what we have created, believing that "this is the maximum it will bring", as we think we might be the loser if it is not turned into cash, our life will stagnate. Instead of that, we should continue to give liberally whatever we have got and however wealthy we are or we are not.
Gifting is an inherent part of the lives of most winners. When we are ready to give first, we have better chances of living a life of perfection, ease and growth. - 15433
There is an old historical Japanese tale about giving and it shows how we can receive the most extraordinary gifts when we're giving and appreciative of what we already have.
Here is the story.
Once upon a time, there was a poor young farmer. Everything he did in his life never seemed to produce any wealth for him. He was totally broke with no money, no family and no food. So one night he sneaked into a temple and sat by the altar and in desperation asked the Gods what he was supposed to do.
"I have always been sincere and industrious, but all my industriousness never became beneficial to me. Where have I gone wrong?"
He fell asleep near the altar just after he put the question. When he woke up in the morning, he saw in front of him one of the Gods he had seen in his dream, with a bright golden light around him. The God's voice reverberated in his mind.
"When you wake up in the morning, cherish what you have in your hand and go on giving it to others liberally as you proceed," the God commanded.
The farmer opened his eyes. There were many things that he wanted to ask but he managed to pull himself up and tried to remove the confusion of the strange dream. But there seemed to be a piece of straw in his hand. It must have remained stuck on his dress while he worked in his land.
He was about to throw the straw away, but remembered what God had told him. Once again he sat down. Then he looked curiously at the bit of straw.
He sat for a long while wondering what that meant. He had no idea how a broken bit of a straw can be of any use to him. Suddenly he saw a wasp buzzing around. The wasp soon alighted on the tip of the straw. He caught hold of the wasp and bound it to the straw with a piece of string from his dress. Thus with a piece of straw with a wasp at one end, he proceeded.
He had proceeded only a bit when he saw a woman and her child coming from the opposite direction. The child was crying. When he wished them, the boy saw the straw in the farmer's hand with a wasp dangling at the end. The child was curious and asked the farmer if he could have it. He was about to refuse when he remembered how God had told him to cherish what he had and also at the same time to give to others what he had. So he offered the straw to the child. The mother became happy since the child stopped crying because of the gift. In return for the straw the lady gave the man three tangerines.
The farmer moved on. As he proceeded, he felt hungry. He was about to eat the tangerines when he again remembered that what was important was giving things to others, not giving it to himself.
The farmer was going over a steep hill and on the way he saw a merchant sitting under a tree. The man had a wooden box near him. The farmer wished the man. He appeared to be very tired. He saw the tangerines the farmer held and asked him if he would give it to him. The merchant told the farmer that he was very thirsty.
The farmer was as thirsty as the trader as he had been walking for long on that hot day. Nevertheless, he offered the tangerines to the trader, who then ate all the three tangerines and felt recharged. He felt very happy about the help rendered to him and opened the wooden box that was by his side. Inside the box were rolls of silk that was dyed with hand. The merchant gifted the farmer one roll and proceeded on his way.
So off the farmer went again following the path. He found a stream along the way and he took a deep drink making him feel totally refreshed. Life seemed to be easier and was flowing now.
The farmer walked and walked not seeing anyone for a long time. He started to think that maybe this was it - his fortune. So, he decided to go to the nearby town to sell the fabric.
But as soon as he turned the corner, he found a group of soldiers. One of them, who appeared to be the leader of the group, was standing near a horse that had fallen on the ground. The leader of the soldiers was saying something to the men of his group.
"It does not appear that this horse would live much. We will have to leave it here. Nurse it well and catch up with me." With this the leader jumped on to another horse and rode off, moving out of people's sight.
The fighters who remained there conferred among themselves as to what to do. They had no interest in putting it to death but there was no other option. Finally one of them drew the sword.
The farmer quickly ran over to them and asked them to stop. He said he would like to look after the horse. He also offered the silk fabric to the warriors. They jumped at the offer and took off very quickly.
With the dying horse by his side, the farmer just remained there. He wondered if he had done things wrongly and whether he would never become rich. Suddenly he remembered the river he had seen on the way.
He immediately went back to the stream, took off his shirt and soaked it in the fresh water so he could give water to horse. He returned to the horse still lying there on the ground. The farmer squeezed the wet cloth over the horse's mouth. Very soon the horse began to respond and regained its consciousness, so the farmer pulled it up with all his might.
The horse finally stood up on its legs so the farmer could take the horse to the stream. As the horse took more water and ate some fresh green grass around the stream, it soon began to regain strength.
Now the farmer had a horse! They set off again together, this time the man had to run to keep up. The horse was actually leading the way. They ran together for miles. As the sun starting to go down, the horse finally stopped in front of a large house. As the farmer caught up, the horse pushed him with his nose to the entrance of the house.
As the farmer made his way to the gate, all of a sudden the gate opened and an old man was standing there. The man looked drawn and he was hastening out onto the road. The old man took notice of the farmer as well as the animal standing nearby.
The man queried the farmer what he wanted. The farmer replied that he was in need of a place to retire for the night. The old man in his turn said that he had to go to the town on an important matter and requested the farmer to be in charge of the house till such time that he returned. He said that his returning might get delayed.
As the old man seemed to be in a hurry, the farmer offered him the horse. The old man appreciated the generous offer and took off with the horse. As he was leaving, he said something peculiar to the farmer.
"If I do not come back in three years' time, this house belongs to you."
As you probably guessed, the old man never returned.
The farmer lived in the large house for the rest of his life with a land full of crops surrounded by kind neighbors happily ever after. But he never forgot to always give away the things he had.
Thank you for going through this story. And what is the message that it contains?
There is always a pattern to things. If the venture of getting can be converted into the venture of giving, our life would pour forth with greater profusion. But it may be a bit difficult to make this ancient wisdom a part of our lives.
The following are the interesting principles we can see in the tale:
* When we are willing to provide what others want, their value for it enhances more than when we are trying to 'barter' it (as mostly we hope to get something out of it) since they compare the price with what we expect for it and would obviously pay less.
* When we are not possessive of whatever we have, we will perceive that we thereby have more chances as we can release the existing possessions.
* When life seems to deal us a bad hand, instead of focusing on the problem if instead we focused on giving and caring, life seems to end up bringing better luck later.
* When we try to encash what we have created, believing that "this is the maximum it will bring", as we think we might be the loser if it is not turned into cash, our life will stagnate. Instead of that, we should continue to give liberally whatever we have got and however wealthy we are or we are not.
Gifting is an inherent part of the lives of most winners. When we are ready to give first, we have better chances of living a life of perfection, ease and growth. - 15433
