Category Wisdom Stories

“The King of Kamera in Africa was a proud and stern man, feared by all his subjects. One day while sitting in his mud palace, surrounded by fawning courtiers and watched by a multitude of people who had come to…

“Gorelal was a famous sculptor. His sculptures looked real ones. One day he saw a dream that after fifteen days, the demon of Death would come to take him. Gorelal prepared nine statues of himself and when on the 15th…

“Once upon a time in ancient China, the emperor told his ministers that he wished to visit a temple to offer prayers to the Buddha. One of the ministers, who was particularly adept at flattery, said: “Your Majesty does not…

“Once Buddha was walking from one town to another town with a few of his followers. This was in the initial days. While they were travelling, they happened to pass a lake. They stopped there and Buddha told one of…

“Once, a king had announced that anyone who wanted the post of personal assistant must meet him. Many people gathered in the palace. The king led them to a pond and said, “Whoever will fill this pond’s water in this…

“One day a Brahmin by the name of Sevaram asked Birbal for help. He said that his forefathers were great Sanskrit scholars and that people used to respectfully refer to them as Panditji. He said that he had no money…

“A Zen student said to his teacher, “Master, I have an ungovernable temper. Help me get rid of it.” “You have something very strange,” said the teacher. “Show it to me.” “Right now I cannot show it to you.” “Why…

“Yamaoka Tesshu, as a young student of Zen, visited one master after another. He called upon Dokuon of Shokoku. Desiring to show his attainment, he said: “The mind, Buddha, and sentient beings, after all, do not exist. The true nature…

“Once their lived a courtesan of incomparable beauty. She was glad to have the monks come by her home for alms, and offered them excellent food. Then one day, one of the monks who had gone to her home for…

“Hyakujo, the Chinese Zen master, used to labor with his pupils even at the age of eighty, trimming the gardens, cleaning the grounds, and pruning the trees. The pupils felt sorry to see the old teacher working so hard, but…