Virtue (wisdom stories)

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The Drunkard Disciple

A Zen master had hundreds of disciples. They all prayed at the right time, except one, who was always drunk.

The master was growing old. Some of the more virtuous pupils began to wonder who would be the new leader of the group, the one who would receive the important secrets of the Tradition.

On the eve of his death, however, the master called the drunkard disciple and revealed the hidden secrets to him.

A veritable revolt broke out among the others.

“How shameful!” they cried in the streets, “We have sacrificed ourselves for the wrong master, one who can’t see our qualities.”

Hearing the commotion outside, the dying master remarked, “I had to pass on these secrets to a man that I knew well. All my pupils are very virtuous, and showed only their qualities. That is dangerous, for virtue often serves to hide vanity, pride and intolerance. That is why I chose the only disciple whom I know really well, since I can see his defect: drunkenness.”

The lantern

A woman was once given a beautiful lantern as first prize in an art competition. The lantern was made of glass with beautiful decorations. She hung it in her drawing room. While enjoying its beauty, she observed that some of the paint on the wall had begun to crumble. She decided to paint the whole wall. When she had finished painting, she looked at the room and noticed that a window curtain was dirty. She immediately washed it. Then she noticed that the carpet was worn out and the threads were coming loose. So she removed the carpet and replaced it with a new one. Finally, the room looked fresh and new.  It all began with her hanging the lantern in the room, and led to the room becoming clean and beautiful. Similarly, if you begin to do one good thing in life, many good things will follow in its wake — it will be like a rebirth. God is the repository of all good qualities. If you imbibe just one good quality, you will get closer to God, and soon all other good qualities will follow. This is the only way in which this transformation is possible. 
Source: Amma

Two wolves

An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy. “It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.”

He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”

The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”

Two dogs

Inside of me there are two dogs. One is mean and evil and the other is good and they fight each other all the time. When asked which one wins I answer, the one I feed the most.

Source:  Sitting Bull

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