“Love In Disguise” by TiberJudy
There’s an old story that’s told about a king who lived in a far-off, distant land. He had a rich kingdom, with all his needs and most of his desires met everyday by the royal court that served him. He was loved and respected by his family and noblemen and was known throughout the land for his wisdom and fairness. It seemed the king had everything he could have ever wanted. Except for one very important thing: he had no heir
"Spaceships & Invitations" — (excerpt) Marianne Williamson
Sometimes, love arrives as though it were a spaceship landing in the back yard. The captain comes out of the ship and says to us, "Hi, I'm here to beam you up! Come on! We're going!"
Yet so many times we reject him, saying, "Uh, well, I can't just leave here so fast. Actually, I can't even believe you're here. How long do I have to prepare my things?"
And he says, "You have no time at all. Your entire life been spent preparing. Now, we must go quickly. If you wait, your eyes will adjust and you will no longer see me. I've just landed for a bit, to pick you up. You have an hour, max. You can make further plans from the ship."
“The Old Woman Weaving in a Cave” — a Native American Story
This is a centuries old Native American myth about an ancient woman who lives in a cave. People far and wide know of her existence, but the cave, and thus the woman have never been found. Her partner in this story is a very old black dog that caringly watches her every move. The old woman’s focus and passion is operating an ancient loom — patiently weaving a sizable and most beautiful of garments. She never leaves her task except to occasionally walk over to the fireplace to stir a kettle of “very special soup.” Interestingly, whenever she walks away from the task at hand (the garment), the old black dog, unhurriedly and determinedly pushes himself upwards and then heads towards that remarkable garment.
I’ll leave the rest or the story for you to read and interpret…
The Wisdom of the Zen Masters (excerpt) by Irmgard Schloegl
When the succession after the Fifth Patriarch was under consideration, his main disciple Jinshu was generally expected to be the heir. To present his insight, he composed a verse:
The body is the Tree of Awakening,
The heart is a bright mirror;
Carefully wipe it always So that no dust can settle.
Eno (Hui Neng), who in fact became the Sixth Patriarch, countered with another verse:
There is no Tree of Awakening;
The bright mirror has no stand;
When all is emptiness Where can dust settle?
“Opening the Door of Your Heart" (excerpt from) WHO ORDERED THE TRUCKLOAD OF DUNG? by Ajahn Brahm
SEVERAL CENTURIES AGO, seven monks were in a cave in a jungle somewhere in Asia, meditating on the type of unconditional love I described in the previous story. There was the head monk, his brother, and his best friend. The fourth was the head monk’s enemy: they just could not get along. The fifth monk in the group was a very old monk, so advanced in years that he was expected to die at any time. The sixth monk was sick—so ill in fact that he too could die at any time. And the last monk, the seventh, was the useless monk. He always snored when he was supposed to be meditating; he couldn’t remember his chanting, and if he did he would chant off-key He couldn’t even keep his robes on properly. But the others tolerated him and thanked him for teaching them patience.
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