IOU - Hard Work

Buddha and his disciples begged for their food.

One day a rich man was very rough with Buddha and told him off by saying, "Aren't you ashamed that you beg? You don't believe in hard work like I do. You are lazy and depend on others for food. Tell me why I must give you something?"

Buddha replied, "I do a lot of hard work much harder than others do."

The rich man said, 'But I don't see that."

Buddha, "I work very hard to train my mind to remain empty but fully attentive. It is very hard work. Try to do it for a minute and you would realize how hard it is. I do it for 24 hours a day. Since my work involves the mind you don't see it.'

"How does that help?" the rich man asked.

Buddha reassuringly replied, "Well, when you change your inside your outside world changes. You become the master of all that you do and you can put an end to your sufferings. It is worth more than all the riches of the world that you may collect. But hard work is needed"

The rich man realized the truth and immebecame Buddha's disciple.

 

Great Indian Stories - retold