© Picture www.mahaweli.com
Special thanks to V. Ryapolov, my first yoga teacher. He told me this fable when I was 20.
© Picture www.mahaweli.com
It happened in ancient times.
Once a monk went through the forest.
He was in a bad mood last week, his favorite bowl was broken.
(To be more precisely, his only one bowl).
Do you know what the bowl means for a monk?
It means everything.
Today was the market in the village.
Beautiful bowls were for sale!
Sobbing in sad thoughts, the monk limped along the forest path.
Suddenly something glittered under his feet.
He lowered his eyes and quickly closed his eyes…
That can not be!
A coin!
A silver coin that shines and shines!
Where is it coming from?
He did not want to think about this.
He just turned, pulled up his robe, and hurried back in gallop.
In front of his inner eyes were a beautiful bowl, which he looked at for a long
time without being able to buy.
Now he has enough money for the bowl and the delicious rice.
There will certainly be enough even for sweets!
As he bounced across the stream, he accidentally dropped the coin.
Immediately the coin disappeared in the water.
In vain the poor monk sought his valuable find.
The more he rummaged through the muddy ground, the more muddiness rose in the cold water.
Desperate and completely exhausted, the monk crawled on to the shore.
He cursed his misfortune and fell into the dry grass.
The sun stroked it with warm rays, but the water was icy at this time of the year.
Frozen and deeply unhappy, he wiped the tears and sank in troubled sleep.
He was awakened by joyous birds singing and the market noise in the distance.
Sunrays dried his clothes and he felt heavenly light.
He gave up his dream of the beautiful bowl full of sweets and rose to continue
his long journey.
Meanwhile, the mud clouds were driven out by the current.
The coin shined on a shallow spot.
Slowly, he raised his treasure and went back to the village.