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Showing posts from November, 2019

The Empty Boat and Young Monk

Introduction A long time ago, a young Zen monk lived in a little monastery in the forest by a small lake. The monastery was occupied by a few older monks, but the remainder were beginners who still needed to learn. The monks had numerous tasks at the monastery, but one of the most essential was their daily routine, which required them to sit down, close their eyes, and meditate. The monk struggled to focus during his meditation practice for several reasons, which irritated him. After that, I concentrated in quiet for hours at a time. After each meditation, they were to report back to their mentor on their development.  Anger of a Young Monk When the young monk reported his progress, or lack thereof, to his mentor, the senior monk asked him a simple question with a hidden lesson: "Do you know what is making you angry?" The young monk responded, "Well, normally, as soon as I close my eyes and begin to meditate, someone moves around and I lose focus. I am angry when someone

Best inspirational story: Károly Takács

Károly Takács was born in Budapest, Hungary on 21 January 1910. Many of us do not know about him but his story inspires many and he is still a national hero of Hungary. He joined the army as a sergeant and his main interest was in pistol shooting. He was not allowed to play in the 1936 Olympics as he was a sergeant and only commissioned officers can participate in games. By 1938 he became a top-notch shooting player of Hungary and the ban was also lifted by that time. Hence he became the national favorite for gold in the upcoming 1940 Tokyo Olympics.  Just a few months before the 1940 Olympics he lost his right hand when a faulty grenade exploded in his hands during army training camp. It was a major setback for a person who was at the helm of the world ranking of pistol shooting. At that time he can find so many shoulders to weep over his loss. He spent one month in the hospital to recover from the injury but we can't imagine the mental pain he might have faced at that time.