Two stories to share with you from "The Book of Awakening" by Mark Nepo:
An aging Hindu master grew tired of his apprentice
complaining, and so, one morning sent him for some salt. When the apprentice
returned, the master instructed the unhappy young man to get a handful of salt
in a glass of water and then to drink it.
"How does it taste?" the master asked.
"Bitter," spit the apprentice.
The master chuckled and then asked the young man to
take the same handful of salt and put it in the lake. The two walked in silence
to the nearby lake, and once the apprentice swirled his handful of salt in the
water, the old man said, "Now drink from the lake."
As the water dripped down the young man's chin, the
master asked, "How does it taste?"
"Fresh," remarked the apprentice.
"Do you taste the salt?" asked the master.
"No," said the young man.
At this, the master sat beside this serious young man who reminded him of
himself and took his hands, offering, "The pain of life is pure salt; no
more, no less. The amount of pain in life remains the same, exactly the same.
But the amount of bitterness we taste depends on the container we put the pain
in. So when you are in pain, the only thing you can do is to enlarge your sense
of things.... Stop being a glass. Become a lake.
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In India, there is a story about a kind, quiet man who
would pray in the Ganges River every morning. One day after praying, he saw a
poisonous spider struggling in the water and cupped his hands to carry it
ashore. As he placed the spider on the ground, it stung him. Unknowingly, his
prayers for the world diluted the poison.
The next day the same thing happened. On the third
day, the kind man was knee deep in the river, and sure enough, there was the
spider, legs frantic in the water. As the man went to lift the creature yet
again, the spider said, "Why do you keep lifting me? Can't you see I will
sting you every time, because that is what I do." And the kind man cupped
his hands about the spider, replying, "Because that is what I do."
There are many reasons to be kind, but perhaps none is
as compelling as the spiritual fact that it is what we do. It is how the inner
organ of being keeps pumping. Spiders sting. Wolves howl. Ants build small
hills that no one sees. And human beings lift each other, no matter the
consequence. Even when other beings sting.
Some say this makes us a sorry lot that never learns,
but to me it holds the same beauty as berries breaking through ice and snow
every spring. It is what quietly feeds the world. After all, the berries do not
have any sense of purpose or charity. They are not altruistic, or
self-sacrificing. They simply grow to be delicious because that is what they
do.
As for us, if things fail, we will reach for them. If things break, we will
try to put them together. If loved ones cry, we will try to soothe them -
because that is what we do. I have often reached out, and sometimes it feels
like a mistake. Sometimes, like the quiet man lifting the spider, I have been
stung. But it doesn't matter, because that is what I do. That is what we do. It
is the reaching out that is more important than the sting. In truth, I'd rather
be fooled than not believe.
