PureInsight | June 26, 2006
[PureInsight.org] Worldly
fortune is always limited, but people's greed knows no bounds. Though
people all know a satisfied heart is the happiest, few can really let
go of all of their greed and lust. Most people do not know that letting
one's greed go is true wisdom and necessary to a light-hearted life.
The following legend makes a good example to illustrate this point. In
ancient times, one day a god was strolling in mundane world and he saw
an earthly man traveling on the road. The god then joined the traveler,
pretending to be just an ordinary man. After a while, the earthly man
felt thirsty. He saw the god carrying a calabash on his belt, so he
asked the god, "Is there water in you calabash?" The god handed him the
calabash and said. "Here's a full calabash of water. You can drink as
much as you want." The man drank from the calabash, and found that the
water not only quenched his thirst, but also refreshed him and washed
way his tiredness. They traveled on for a while before the man suddenly
said, "How I wish it is wine in your calabash." The god smiled, gave
the calabash a shake, and replied, "It is wine in it. Drink if you
want." The man did not believe him, but still he drank from the
calabash. To his surprise, what he drank was really wine, and extremely
aromatic wine at that.
The man was amazed. He said to himself his companion must be a god,
because only a god can do that. He thought it was a good chance for him
to ask for more. So the man said, "Now I wish it's elixir in the
calabash." The god smiled, and opened the lid of the calabash. The man
thought the god would really give him elixir, so he eagerly opened his
mouth and waited. But nothing came out from the calabash, and the god
shook the calabash again and disappeared.
The Russian writer Ivan Andreevich Krylov said in a fable, "Greedy
people want everything, but they will end up losing everything." A
greedy person does not know how to control his desires. He goes blindly
after what he wants but, in the end, could end up with anything. The
really wise ones, on the contrary, do not waste their time pursuing
worldly benefits. But at the end, they will achieve more than anyone
else.
Translated from:
http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2006/6/16/38143.html
