“Richard Seltzer tells this story of love”
Yale University surgeon named Richard Seltzer. Richard Seltzer tells this story of love.
“I stand by the bed where a young woman lies, her face post operative, her mouth twisted and palsy clownish. A tiny twig of the facial nerve, the one to the muscles of her mouth has been severed. She will be thus from now on. The surgeon had followed, with religious fervor, the curve of her flesh. I promise you that. Nevertheless, to remove the tumor from her cheek I had to cut the little nerve
“The Pencil's Tale” — Author Unknown
An old pencil maker took his newest pencil aside, just before he was about to pack him into a box. Imagining the little fellow as a person he recalled a few things about the pencil.
“There are five things you need to know,” he said…
"PRIDE ANGER AND FEAR ARE THE INNER ENEMIES OF EVERY WARRIOR" — a Zen Story
A young Japanese archer took great pride in the excellence of his marksmanship with a bow and arrow. Having read a lot of pithy Zen stories and received some basic training on mindfulness, he soon came to the conclusion that he was a true master of archery. So he decided to travel to a remote mountain monastery in order to challenge an old Zen master, who was reputed to have once possessed great skill with a bow and arrow.
“Hell - An Old Buddhist Story” — Author Unknown
In ancient times there was a small village with a monastery nearby. One day, samurai warriors arrived and sacked the whole village. They took all the valuables, burned the homes, and killed all the people they met. Finally, they came to a monastery, and out in front of this monastery was an old Zen master. He is just sitting in the garden when a young samurai warrior comes up to him. The samurai pulls out his sword, holds it up over his head and says, “Old man, don’t you know that I have the power to kill you? I could lop off your head right now without even thinking of it.”
“Finding a Piece of the Truth” — Zen Parable
One day Mara, the Evil One, was travelling through the villages of India with his attendants. He saw a man doing walking meditation whose face was lit up on wonder. The man had just discovered something on the ground in front of him. Mara’s attendant asked what that was and Mara replied, “A piece of truth.”
"The Need to Win" by Chuang Tzu
When an archer is shooting for nothing,
he has all his skill.
If he shoots for a brass buckle,
he is already nervous.
If he shoots for a prize of gold,
he goes blind or sees two targets.
"The Active Life" by Chuang Tzu
If an expert does not have some problem to vex him, he is unhappy.
If a philosopher's teaching is never attacked, he pines away.
If critics have no one on whom to exercise their spite, they are miserable.
All such people are prisoners in a world of objects.
"Wonder" (from his private journal) — Dag Hammarskjoid
“God does not die on the day we cease to believe in a personal deity.
But we die on the day when our lives cease to be illumined by the steady radiance, renewed daily, of a Wonder — the source of which is beyond all reason.
"Not Ready to Be a True Teacher” — Author Unknown
"Kasan, a Zen teacher and monk, was to officiate at a funeral of a famous nobleman.
As he stood there waiting for the governor of the province and other lords and ladies to arrive, he noticed that the palms of his hands were sweaty.
"Love" by Kahlil Gibran
Then said Almitra, "Speak to us of Love."
And he raised his head and looked upon the people, and there fell a stillness upon them.
And with a great voice he said:
When love beckons to you follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.