The Burden
Two monks were returning to the monastery in the evening. It had rained and there were puddles of water on the road sides. At one place a beautiful young woman was standing unable to walk across because of a puddle of water. The elder of the two monks lifted the woman, carried her across the river, placed her gently on the other side, and continued his way to the monastery.
In the evening the younger monk came to the elder monk and said, “Sir, as monks, we cannot touch a woman?”
The elder monk answered “Yes, brother.”
Then the younger monk asks again, “But then Sir, how did you lift that woman on the roadside ?”
The elder monk smiled at him and replied, “Brother, I set her down on the other side of the river, why are you still carrying her?”
How often do we carry burdens we could have set down a long time ago...
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@amiablePeace77 that is a great story.
The more I dwell on situations in my mind, the more I carry them around with them.
It also points out that compassion is a higher calling than just following the rules.
@soulsings
I love what you said about compassion is a higher calling then following the rules!
@amiablePeace77 thanks so much ami for your appreciation
I think I carry burdens alot because I tend to worry about how things went , mistakes which I have made or how I should have made a situation better.
Not carrying so many burdens would make you less stressed.
Although it can be hard at times I try and think about things which are happening now and move on from things which have happened in the past.
@Harmony8682 one of the signs for me if I am carrying burdens is to stop myself and become aware of my breathing or the senses and see if I am chasing thoughts and trying to work out things from the past or the future.
One youtube video I love is called Follow Your Breath Not Your Thoughts by Padraig O'Morain. It describes the process I mentioned above.
Thank you😊
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@amiablePeace77 Alas, if it was only that easy, none of us would be here. Perhaps what they were trying to convey is that with age, it gets easier to not sweat the little things...or that what seems like a burden worth carrying to you, seems trivial and unworthy to your neighbor because they can see it from a different point of view. It's all about perspective.
