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| Image: The Glass |
Once a troubled farmer went to a sage and complained, "Please help me, I have a really small hut that hardly accommodates me and my family, and now my in laws want to come and live with us. What can I do ?"
Sage asked, "How many cattle do you have?"
"5 Goats, 1 Cow and 2 Oxen.", the farmer replied.
"Bring the Goats and Cow inside your hut with your family and come back after a week." the Sage replied and the farmer left, baffled.
The farmer came back the following week and now he looked even more tensed than before.
"How is it going?", the Sage asked him.
Upset, the farmer replied, "Its not good at all. Its so crowded and noisy inside now. I cant even hear myself thinking, let alone my wife's complaints."
"Bring your Oxen inside the hut too and come back after a week." said the Sage. The farmer was dumbstruck, but he knew about the sage's reputation and so left without saying anything.
Week later, the farmer came with dark circles under his eyes."What are you doing to me?" he yelled at the Sage. "My in laws are coming tomorrow and my wife is going crazy everyday. My life is a hell now. Its like living in a zoo."
The sage calmly answered, "Go back, send the animals out and come back after a week."
The farmer left with a raging temper, and came back after a week. But this time, he looked calm and serene. The Sage looked at him, smiled and asked, "How are the things at home now?"
The farmer oozed with joy, "Wonderful! I never knew my hut was so big. After I sent all the animals out, my house looked enormous. My in laws are living with me now but I hardly notice them. Me and my wife are really happy now."
The Sage smiled and said, "As long as you see the challenges of your life as a problem, you will suffer. The only thing that makes you suffer is not the event itself, but your perception about the event. Nothing on the outside can make you suffer; suffering comes from within and so does inner peace."
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