A few days ago, after morning meditation, Sensei asked five of the senior monks to step up in front of him.
Sensei said, “Monks, you have been diligent in your practice. I have gifts for you.”
Saying so, Sensei opened a bag in which there was a butter knife, a book, a meditation mat, a flower vase and a single incense stick.
The monks were very pleased had big smiles on their faces. Gifts from Sensei were always magical.
Sensei giggled and softly said, “Would any of you like to choose your gifts?”
Head Monk bowed his head as a sign of gentle refusal, whereas the other four monks got excited and rushed to claim what they wanted. Humble Monk chose the butter knife, Angry Monk chose the book, Truthful Monk chose the meditation mat and Business Monk chose the flower vase. The single incense stick remained unclaimed.
Sensei then handed over the single incense stick to Head Monk, who bowed to Sensei in gratitude.
The Monks were ecstatic about their gifts, and rushed to their rooms to store them safely. On reaching their rooms, the monks had a minor shock.
Inside each of their rooms was an additional gift from Sensei. Amongst the five monks, four of them felt deeply disappointed.
A bit later, the five monks assembled in the meditation hall and bowed to Sensei.
Sensei laughed and asked, “So, how did you like your gifts?”
Humble Monk said, “When I reached my room, I found a permission to meditate alone in Sensei’s mountain cave. The butter knife was not what I should have chosen. Instead, I needed the meditation mat.”
Angry Monk grumbled and said, “In my room I found a cake that was baked by Sensei himself! I need the butter knife, not the book to enjoy it.”
Truthful Monk said, “I found the ‘flowers of eternity’, handpicked by Sensei, in my room. I needed the flower vase, not the meditation mat to preserve them.”
Business Monk said, “I found a paper full of enlightening questions set by Sensei, that I could have easily answered, if I had chosen the book. Alas, I chose the flower vase….”
Sensei beckoned at Head Monk for his response.
Head Monk bowed to Sensei and said, “Sensei, I found the match box you sent me. Lighting the incense stick you gave me, my room was instantly blessed with a heavenly scent. Also I noticed that the stick is magical; it just continues to burn…”
Sensei clapped three times and said, “So often, we ask for gifts that we think are best for us, even though Budhha has bigger and better gifts in store for us. Be patient and receive gifts that come to you, in their own time.
Don’t rush to choose things that you think are useful to you, because they may never be…”
*****
