Samsara
The sky was as clear as a diamond. The clouds were sailing across the sky as if in a race with the birds. The squirrels whose nests were broken by gusty wind were screaming, screeching, wailing and crying as if in a war. On the teacher’s table there were ants quarreling over a grain of sugar.
While the teacher was teaching, one of the students did reverence at the teacher’s feet and asked a question. “Teacher, could you please teach me what Samsara is?” Later, the teacher in a gentle tone answered the question thus, “Imagine that you want to sojourn in a house. But when you enter the verandah first you do not have a doormat to wipe your feet, even though you want to remove the dirt on your feet you have no options. Now what do you do to remove the dirt on your feet?”
The student after thinking of the teacher’s question for several minutes replied, “I do not have any option but to walk along the verandah until the dirt goes away.”
The teacher smiling with the student said, “Dear son, you have to walk along the verandah to get rid of dirt on your feet. How much you walk until the dirt goes away is Samsara.” The students learnt about Samsara through this simple example.
The lamp in broad daylight
News of the teacher’s wisdom had spread throughout the village. Many students came to the teacher from various villages. When the teacher was in a conversation with the students a student asked a question. But the question he asked was not expected by anyone.
“Teacher, you are a mine of knowledge and wisdom. Undoubtedly you find no equal in wisdom but why do you stay in a village rather than going to the city?” On hearing these words the teacher smilingly asked the student to light the lamp. The student who was surprised by the teacher’s request asked, “Teacher, why do you light a lamp in broad daylight? It is useless. Even a kid will not even attempt to light a lamp in broad daylight.” The teacher with a smile on his face said, “Dear son, that is what you are doing by asking me to go to the city. In the city there may be many teachers. But in this grove teachers and scholars cannot be found.”
What is birth
In the days gone by there lived a teacher who had hundreds of students. One day the teacher with all the students had gone on a trip. Suddenly one of the students asked a question. “Teacher, what is birth?”
The teacher stopped walking and looked at the student with a kind expression on his face. “Dear son, imagine you are sailing a boat, the moment you put your boat on the water is your birth, your journey to your own destination is your life. But my responsibility is guiding you in the right destination on the right path.” Answering the question the teacher began the journey again with the students.