Once Buddha was walking from one town to another town with a few of his followers. This was in the initial days. While they were traveling, they happened to pass a lake. They stopped there and Buddha told one of his disciples, “I am thirsty. Do get me some water from that lake there.”
The disciple walked up to the lake. When he reached it, he noticed that right at that moment, a bullock cart started crossing through the lake. As a result, the water became very muddy, very turbid. The disciple thought, “How can I give this muddy water to Buddha to drink!”
So he came back and told Buddha, “The water in there is very muddy. I don’t think it is fit to drink.” After about half an hour, again Buddha asked the same disciple to go back to the lake and get him some water to drink. The disciple obediently went back to the lake.
This time too he found that the lake was muddy. He returned and informed Buddha about the same. After sometime, again Buddha asked the same disciple to go back. The disciple reached the lake to find the lake absolutely clean and clear with pure water in it. The mud had settled down and the water above it looked fit to be had. So he collected some water in a pot and brought it to Buddha.
Buddha looked at the water, and then he looked up at the disciple and said, “See what you did to make the water clean. You let it be…. and the mud settled down on its own – and you got clear water. Your mind is also like that! When it is disturbed, just let it be. Give it a little time. It will settle down on its own. You don’t have to put in any effort to calm it down. It will happen. It is effortless.”
[Source: http://www.spiritual-short-stories.com/spiritual-short-story-746-Buddha%E2%80%99s+Advice+to+Calm+a+Disturbed+Mind.html]
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
And when the night is cloudy, there is still a light, that shines on me,
shine until tomorrow, let it be…
Have a splendiferous weekend!
Shall I join in on the chorus?! Knew you would throw that in Tim. I always look forward to your “wiseman” quotes. . . “whisper words of wisdom, let it be . . .”
m.
Tim,
Again late to the party. Let me assure you that I did have a “splendiferous weekend” – spent mostly watching endless episodes of “Friday Night Lights” on Netflix!
Paul
Just the thing for me to hear today. Thank you.
God is good!
Have a splendid one yourself Tim!
Angela,
Yes, God is good. And it is good for us to acknowledge that by what we say and do. Praise God.
Paul
I wish
The sun is shining on Lake Zurich though – God is in His Heaven
Simon,
I’m not jealous or defensive or anything… but the sun on Lake Michigan looks pretty great as well!
Paul
Such amazing advice. I am a person of action so when I get upset, I need to take action to correct the situation; however, the other night I was able to give a concern to God in prayer and then rest peacefully. That was a wonderful feeling. Hopefully, that will become a habit!
God bless and have a peaceful weekend.
Lynda,
I told Simon (above) that I wasn’t jealous of his sun shining on Lake Zurich but I will confess to being jealous of your ability to hand over a concern to God and then rest peacefully.
Paul
Believe me – it doesn’t happen frequently and I constantly have to work on it.
Let it be, let it be….
Tim and Marg, see what you started. Can’t get the tune out of my head now!
So, I’ll follow the advice of the wisdom story, and let my mind settle down.
Paul, thank you that was a great story.
Everyone, have a terrific weekend.
God Bless,
Bob
Ah, beautiful, thank you! Quite a gift!
Oh how I wish I had read this on Friday!!!! I confess. I am not one to wait for the waters to clear. I would have been straining, boiling, putting purification tablets in it. Anything but waiting. Why? Because I cannot relinquish control. To relinquish control requires Faith. It requires a level of detachment from outcomes that I frequently find lacking in myself. Maybe tomorrow, but I do wish I’d stopped in on Friday!!! Whatta mess!! I think now that I’ve stirred the mud up myself, I’ll stop thrashing about and see what happens if I do nothing but wait on the Lord.
Emma, don’t be too hard on yourself. It is difficult for most people to relinquish control, especially when we have been through difficult times where others have had control over us. Some people never learn to wait and for others it comes with life’s experience; as we remember God’s faithfulness in one situation, then we can be more at ease with waiting on the Lord in another situation. Believe me, waiting and not acting is one of the most difficult things in life for a person like myself.
ME TOO!!!!!! We must be related!! a sisterhood of sorts