The Little Monk ( lll )

The little monk wanted to go out of the monastery to meet the followers and to receive alms. He specially picked an old and torn clothes to wear.


"Why do you pick this clothes?", asked the old monk.


"Didn't you say that the outside appearance is not important? That's why I choose this piece. The followers will pity me and give me more alms.", the little monk said indignantly.



"Are you going out to beg? Are you hoping people sympathize with you and give you alms or hoping people realize that you are capable and listen to your preaching?", the old master asked with his eyes staring at his pupil.

The Little Monk (ll)

The little monk picked up the pieces of paper from the floor. Then he washed his hands and face as well as his clothes time after time.

"What are you up to? You've wasted half a day's time washing this and that!", the old master said.

"I have a phobia for dirt! I just cannot tolerate! Have you noticed that? Everytime any guest leaves, I'll wipe the seat he or she just sat."

"You call yourself an automysophobic person!? You hate this place and that place dirty, this person and that person dirty. Although you look clean outside, you're sick inside your heart. You can't say that you're clean."

(Note: automysophobia(noun) - a morbid fear of being dirty

automysophobic (adj)

Photo : courtesy of Oriental Daily News

The Little Monk ( l )

The little monk sat on the floor crying with papers scattered all over the place.


"What's the matter?", the old monk asked.


"My writing of calligraphy is awful!", said the little monk.


The old monk picked up a few sheets and said,"The writing is not too bad. Why do you want to throw away and why do you cry?"


"I just don't think they're good. I'm a perfectionist. I cannot make any mistake.", he said in between sobs.


"The problem is that there is nobody who doesn't make mistake in this world. You want to be perfect in everything you do. With a little flaw you'll get angry and cry. Do you call this perfect?", said the old monk.

Life's Touchstone

When the ancient library in the capital was destroyed by fire, all it left was a book which had not much academic value. The government decided to auction it.

As everyone knew that this book had no academic value, there was no bidder. Finally a very poor scholar bought it with 3 pence.

Not only it had no academic value, the book was also very boring. Since the scholar had no other book to read, he still frequently read it. In the end the book was worn due to his frequent turning of the pages. From the binding part of the book fell out a slip of paper on which a line was written :"The secret of touchstone. It is a type of pebble which will turn any metal into pure gold. It looks like any ordinary pebble, lying quietly on the beach. However the ordinary pebble is cold while the touchstone is warm to touch."

The scholar was thrilled when he learned this secret. Immediately he went to the beach to look for the touchstone. He confidently picked the pebbles but all were cold to touch. Gradually he became very disappointed. He threw the pebbles with all his might back to the sea.

Many years later, one day he picked up a warm pebble. But due to his habit of throwing away the pebbles over the years, the legendary touchstone was already thrown back into the deep blue sea. Resentfully he dived into the sea trying to look for it. After many days of searching he still could not find it.

The poor scholar gave up hope and he went back to the capital. At that time the town was celebrating 100 years of nation building. The King was very happy. He wanted to find the strongest man in the country. The winner would be bestowed the title of baron, with many gold bullions and fields as rewards. The scholar thought that with his years of throwing pebbles knew that his opportunity had arrived.

He looked at those contestants who tried their luck, but none was as strong as him. He went up the stage and outfought them one by one. He became the champion and was rewarded by the King. He was now a rich man and a baron.

The scholar was thankful to the book which brought him good luck. He decided to rebind the book. While he was doing it, he discovered that there was another slip of paper inside the backbone of the book. It said:"There is no touchstone in this world. Your attitude towards life is your touchstone. When you grumble that you have no chance, when it comes to you, you will not be able to hold it in your hand."

Changing Track

Mr. Lin and his wife had been selling shoes at the night markets ( pasar malam) for more than ten years. They sold their wares at different locations on different days of the week. They started business from the evening until late into the night. By the time they reached home, it was usually past midnight.



These few years with the birth of their two children, they felt that they needed to spend more time with them. They had thought of changing jobs but other than working as shoes sellers they had no other skill.



Unexpectedly a friend who ran a small restaurant wanted to retire invited the Lins to take over his food business. At the same time he would train them all his cooking skill including his special dishes. He felt that instead of letting his skill to waste since nobody in his family was interested in carrying on his business, it was a good idea to train someone to takeover.



In our life's journey, there are many "crossroads" where we have to make decision. But very often our mentors appear without us realising it. How do we know where our mentors are and subsequently utilise these resources? Because many people are afraid of changes and therefore miss the opportunity of meeting their mentors.



As we do not know when our mentors will come, we have to be brave to open a window for ourselves. Our mentors will then be able to come into our lives to give us a push.



Once we have succeeded in changing our track, we will then meet many people from different fields and experience a different process of life. At this moment if we want our mentors to come near, we should first learn how to cooperate, appreciate and learn from them their good points.

Doing Favour For Yourself

One rainy day, a man was taking shelter under the porch of a hut. He saw Guan Yin (the Goddess of Mercy) passing by carrying an umbrella. He said,"Guan Yin Buddha, can you do me a favour? Please shelter me a short distance."

Guan Yin said,"I'm in the rain and you're being sheltered. There's no raindrops under the porch. You don't need my shelter."


This man quickly jumped into the rain and said,"I'm now in the rain. Shouldn't you shelter me?"

Guan Yin said,"We both are in the rain now. I'm not wet because I've the umbrella. You're wet because you don't have the umbrella. So it's not I who shelter myself but the umbrella's sheltering me. If you want shelter, go and get an umbrella! You don't have to ask me."


The following day, this man encountered some problems and he went to a temple and prayed. Inside he saw a person looked exactly like Guan Yin praying in front of the statue of Guan Yin.

He asked,"Are you Guan Yin, the Buddha?"

The person answered,"Yes, I am."

"Why do you pray to yourself?"

Guan Yin smiled and said,"I too encounter some problems. But I know, instead of asking favour from others, why not ask from myself?"


#When encountering problems many people usually ask others for help without trying to solve them on their own in the first instance. They forget that every person has vast potential in solving his/her own difficulties. Regretably many people do not know of this potential, that they can be their own savior.#



( Photo: Courtesy of Oriental Daily News )

Reverse Thinking ( ll )

Mike joined a financial institution as a fund manager. For reason unknown his superior always ignored him. For example when he invited all his subordinates to have steamboat dinner at his house after work, he purposely left him out.

Mike tried to console himself by going to a high class Chinese restaurant to have his steamboat dinner with his buddies. They had a good time there. He felt that he enjoyed the company of his buddies more than that of his superior and gang.

His superior wanted to frustrate him but he enjoyed himself even more. His superior assigned him the less popular counters which were not easy to have good results, but he was not angry at all.

The treatment he got from his superior forced him to seek new path. Now he is working happily in a big company as a financial planner. He said,"Thanks for his good work. Otherwise I am still a fund manager there."

How big is your achievement depends on how broad is your outlook. Tolerate a little and step back, you will find that everywhere is your way. Do not waste your energy on those people who do not deserve your attention.