A Useless Life

A Useless Life

A farmer got so old that he couldn't work the fields anymore. So he would spend the day just sitting on the porch. His son, still working the farm, would look up from time to time and see his father sitting there. "He's of no use any more," the son thought to himself, "he doesn't do anything!" One day the son got so frustrated by this, that he built a wood coffin, dragged it over to the porch, and told his father to get in. Without saying anything, the father climbed inside. After closing the lid, the son dragged the coffin to the edge of the farm where there was a high cliff. As he approached the drop, he heard a light tapping on the lid from inside the coffin. He opened it up. Still lying there peacefully, the father looked up at his son. "I know you are going to throw me over the cliff, but before you do, may I suggest something?" "What is it?" replied the son. "Throw me over the cliff, if you like," said the father, "but save this good wood coffin. Your children might need to use it."
Reflection On People's Comments To The Story
* "The father is saying to the son; from your perspective I'm as good as dead, but son you will realize who I am- when you are me ;) "
* "It's so easy to forget what knowledge and experience any one person has, especially older people who have been around for a long time. Our society tends to define a person's usefulness in terms of their physical capabilities and what they can DO. We tend to forget that human worth is in the mind and heart."
* "Be careful! Your children someday may do to you exactly what you did to your parents. All bad things that you do will eventually come back to haunt you. It's karma."
* "Materialistic greed, illwill, aversion, hatred and delusion can make a person do the most cruel and horrifying thing. Such a person needs to see the 'cause and effect' of his unwholesome action."