PureInsight | January 30, 2008
[PureInsight.org] There is a
classic joke: a father and a son were on the road riding a donkey. A
passer-by criticized them, saying, "How cruel you are! See how tired
the poor donkey is." So the father got off the donkey and let the son
ride. Another passer-by criticized them in these words: "Look how awful
the son is! He rides the donkey but let his poor father walk." So the
son got off the donkey and let the father ride. Someone else criticized
them by saying, "Look how selfish the father is! He rides the donkey
and makes the child walk." Therefore the father got off the donkey
again and walked with his son, thinking, "Now we're safe." However,
another observor laughed at them, "Look how foolish those two are! A
donkey is free and neither of them rides it!"
What is right and wrong? People only shake their heads and sigh, "There
are two sides to every question. It doesn't make much sense arguing."
However, if a cultivator were the passer-by, things would have been
much more harmonious. Because a cultivator cultivates "Compassion," his
heart is full of mercy and kindness, so his view of the world is
different. No matter which of the circumstances described above he
encountered, a cultivator would speak with compassionate observation.
On seeing the father and son both riding the donkey, he would say, "How
diligent and loyal the donkey is! It serves its master well!" On seeing
the son riding and the father walking, he would say, "How loving the
father is! He would rather walk than pursue ease and comfort by riding
the donkey." On seeing the father riding and the son walking, he would
say, "How sensible the child is! He has learned his duty to the elders
as a child and bears hardships and thinks about others at such a young
age." On seeing both father and son walking, he would say, "How
kind-hearted those two are! They would rather walk than burden the
donkey."
People drew completely different conclusions about the same thing
because the passers-by lacked compassion and always looked at the bad
side of a matter or a person, overlooking the good side. A cultivator
always maintains compassion and, therefore, he can always find the good
side and draw a completely different conclusion. His view of the world
and life is completely different, too.
A compassionate person judges with compassion in his heart. Everything
in his eyes is a living poem, a beautiful view, and a prosperous
spring. A wicked person judges with wickedness in his heart. He is very
picky and criticizes everything even though it is very beautiful.
A wise man knows he knows nothing, but a fool thinks he knows all. A
compassionate person thinks he has plenty of room to improve, but a
wicked person thinks he is good enough. I wish we all would have the
judge of compassion in our heart so we could genuinely judge good from
bad, righteous from evil, wise from foolish and true from false.
Translated from:
http://xinsheng.net/xs/articles/gb/2003/6/28/22047.htm
