The Embrace

Once upon a time, an old Zen master, who lived in a village in the hills, lost all his life’s possessions in a fire. When the villagers came to him to sympathise, the Zen master simply smiled.

A few weeks later his pet dog which was badly injured in the fire died. The villagers again came to him to sympathise and the Zen master again simply smiled.

After a few months, the Zen master was afflicted by a very painful illness which rendered him unable to walk. This time too, the villagers came to him to sympathise. This time too, the Zen master simply smiled.

Irritated by the Zen master’s attitude, one of the villagers asked in anger ‘Why do you smile? We feel pity for you and we come up to you to sympathise, yet you keep smiling!  Do you not realise that you’ve lost everything? You have failed and are almost as good as dead!’

The Zen master smiled again and replied ‘I have not failed! In fact I see this as an opportunity to pass a great test.’

‘An opportunity to pass a great test?! What exactly is this a test of?!’ exclaimed the perplexed villagers.

‘Endurance’ replied the smiling Zen master, embracing the adversity that faced him.

- Sir Adam Atriy, Parables of Fate

The Hardest Part

Once upon a time there lived a Zen master with his disciples. As the Zen master had grown quite old, he had to choose a successor. One of the disciples was exceptionally talented and hardworking, and was regarded as second only to the master.

Yet on the day of selecting the successor, the master choose not him but another. This infuriated the young disciple, who made it clear to the master that what he had done was not fair.

The Zen master looked at the young man and said “While you have perfected almost all the lessons and teachings, there is still one lesson that you have not learnt.”

The disciple, who was now seething with rage, shouted at the master “What is this lesson that I have not learnt? And why haven’t you taught it to me?”

“You are learning it right now.” the Zen master replied “The lesson of life. The lesson that teaches you that it is possible to commit no mistakes at all and still lose. This lesson teaches you that losing is not a weakness. Not always.”

“But I don’t understand!” said the perplexed young disciple.

“Yes” replied the old master, “and that is the hardest part.”

- Sir Adam Atriy, Parables of Fate

What dreams may come

Once a sad king walked the streets to meet the most content person of his kingdom. He soon stood in front of a hermit's hut near a huge tree.

He stepped inside and sat along side the hermit and asked "Are you happy?"

"I most certainly am, my Lord. Why do you ask?" replied the surprised hermit

"Do you seek no riches or wealth?" asked the perplexed king

"A wise man once told me 'Only dream what you can afford', my lord" replied the hermit, "and my heart can afford nothing, as it was broken when my wife died. And the memories of her are the only treasure I house, and I guard them with my life. No one can steal them, nor can anyone sense their true value."

"But you could remarry and live a happier life with your new wife and have kids" the King said.

"As I said my lord, 'Only dream what you can afford' and my heart is full to the brim and it cannot afford any more love."

The king walked out and thought "what a fool the hermit is, he wastes his life on past memories" and inside the hut the hermit mused "The king is wise, he can afford happiness yet he invests in the sadness of his people"

- Sir Adam Atriy, Parables of Fate