A Story with A Moral

Sand and Stone

Two friends were walking through the desert. During some point of the journey they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other one in the face. The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the sand: "TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE."
They kept on walking until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one, who had been slapped, got stuck in the pool and was on the verge of drowning, but the friend saved him. After the victim recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone: "TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SAVED MY LIFE."
The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him, "After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now, you write on a stone, why?"
The other friend replied: "When someone hurts us, we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it."
Reflection

* We will gain great peace of mind if we learn to forgive another who has hurt us. Feelings of illwill, anger, hatred and revenge will weaker the mind and make us suffer even more.

* When we realize the impermanence or transiency of things and the absence of a real "I" or self, we begin to let go of the past...of things rooted in greed, anger and delusion ... the mind attains greater peace and freedom.

* It is good to remember the kindness another has shown us. Gratitude is a virtue to practise. The grateful person is loved and relates well with others.