"RITUAL" — Zen Story
When the spiritual teacher and his disciples began their evening meditation, a cat who lived in the monastery made such noise that it distracted them…
“Poet” by Keith Basar
Throughout human history, conscious or not, we humans are relentlessly drawn towards the magnetism of Holy Love. Of course, this Love could be echoed as truth, life, purpose and so forth. Throughout the ages wisdom texts and homilies have uttered it, stars have glistened it, the winds have harmonized it — combining every life element into an aspiring, insatiable longing to be one with perfect Love.
The Story Of Mirabai And Her Devotion For Lord Krishna
When Mirabai was just four years old, while watching a marriage procession she asked her mother, “Dear mother, who will be my bridegroom?” Mirabai’s mother smiled and pointed towards the image of Lord Krishna and said, “My dear Mirabai, Lord Krishna is going to be your bridegroom”. Since then, she manifested a deep devotion to Lord Krishna. Meera lost her mother early.
“Beloved Mother of All Thing”s by Thich Nhat Hanh
"Dear Mother Earth,
"I bow my head before you as I look deeply and recognize that you are present in me and that I'm a part of you. I was born from you and you are always present, offering me everything I need for my nourishment and growth. My mother, my father, and all my ancestors are also your children. We breathe your fresh air. We drink your clear water. We eat your nourishing food. Your herbs heal us when we're sick.
“Horses” by Lieh Tzu
Duke Mu of Ch’in said to Po-lo:
‘You are getting on in years. Is there anyone in your family whom I can send to find me horses?’
‘A good horse can be identified by its shape and look, its bone and muscle. But the great horses of the world might be extinct, vanished, perished, lost; such horses raise no dust and leave no tracks…
“Seijo's Two Souls” — Old Chinese Story
There was once an old man named Chokan, who lost his first daughter. As you might imagine, he was very attached to his second daughter. Sei was her name; Jo means young woman. Sei was very beautiful, and so was her neighbor, a boy named Ochu. The two of them were so cute together. The family would watch the two children playing and say, "Ah, what a great couple they make. How adorable." Chokan often said, “The two of you are so perfect together.”
“The Parable of the Good Samaritan” as told by Jesus the Christ
Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.
“A Persian Philosopher in Damascus” (excerpt) — Of Ancient Gods and New — ‘Jesus the Son of Man: His Words and His Deeds As Told and Recorded by Those Who Knew Him’ by Kahlil Gibran
I cannot tell the fate of this man, nor can I say what shall befall His disciples.
A seed hidden in the heart of an apple is an orchard invisible. Yet should that seed fall upon a rock, it will come to naught.
But this I say: The ancient God of Israel is harsh and relentless. Israel should have another God; one who is gentle and forgiving, who would look down upon them with pity; one who would descend with the rays of the sun and walk on the path of their limitations, rather than sit for ever in the judgment seat to weigh their faults and measure their wrong-doings.
“Aikido Surprise” by Terry Dobson
A major turning point in my life came as an unexpected surprise one day in the middle of a quiet spring afternoon on a sleepy train in the suburbs of Tokyo.
It all started as the old train car was clanking and rattling over the rails. It was comparatively empty – a few housewives with their kids in tow, some old folks out shopping, a couple off-duty bartenders casually glancing through the sports section of the local newspaper. I was gazing absently at the drab houses and dusty hedgerows.
Then as the doors opened at one unremarkable station, the calm afternoon was suddenly shattered. A man on the platform bellowed at the top of his lungs, yelling violent, obscene, incomprehensible curses. Just before the doors closed, the still yelling man staggered into our car.
Lu Dongbin's Yellow Millet Dream
At the moment when his mother gave him birth an unearthly perfume pervaded the house, and strains of celestial music were wafted from the sky, and a white crane from heaven flew down between the curtains of her bed and was seen no more. Even when a newly-born infant his frame was strong as metal, and his muscles hard as wood. The crown of his head formed a high dome resembling a crane's; his back was arched like that of a tortoise; his eyes were as brilliant as those of a phœnix; and his eyebrows extended on either side to meet the hair round the temples.