The Unwanted Apprentice

‘We have no doors in our monastery,’ Shanti said to the visitor, who had come in search of knowledge.

‘And what about troublesome people who come to disturb your peace?’

‘We ignore them, and they go away,’ said Shanti.

‘I am a learned man who has come in search of knowledge,’ insisted the foreigner. ‘But what do you do about stupid people? Do you just ignore them as well until they go away? Does that work?’

Shanti did not reply. The visitor repeated his question a few times, but seeing that he got no response, he decided to go and find a teacher who was more focused on what he was doing.

‘You see how well it works?’ said Shanti to himself, smiling.

Trees

By Joyce Kilmer

I think that I shall never see 

A poem lovely as a tree. 

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest 

Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast; 

A tree that looks at God all day, 

And lifts her leafy arms to pray; 

A tree that may in Summer wear 

A nest of robins in her hair; 

Upon whose bosom snow has lain; 

Who intimately lives with rain. 

Poems are made by fools like me, 

But only God can make a tree.

The Box

The old man had worked all his life. When he retired, he bought a farm for his son to manage and decided to spend the rest of his days sitting on the veranda of the big house.

 His son worked for three years. Then he began to grow resentful.

 ‘My father doesn’t do a thing,’ he said to his friends. ‘He spends all his time staring out at the garden, while I slave away in order to feed him.’

One day, he resolved to put an end to this unfair situation. He built a large wooden box, went over to the verandah and said: ‘Pa, would you mind getting into this box?’

His father obeyed. His son placed the box in the back of his truck and drove to the edge of a precipice. Just as he was preparing to push the box over, his heard his father say: ‘Son, throw me over the edge if you must, but be sure to keep the box. You’re setting an example here, and your children will doubtless need the box for you.’

डोको 

"मेरो बुबाको हेरचाह गर्दागर्दै दिक्कै लागिसक्यो। दिनभरी केहि नगरी बसिराख्छ।  आफू  भने मरी मरी काम गरी कमाएर ख्वाउनुपर्ने।", आफ्नो बुढो बुबालाई हेरचाह गर्नुपरेको गुनासो सुनाउदैथियो साथीहरुलाई। 

एक दिन डोकोमा राखेर आफ्नो बुबालाई फ्याकेर आउने बिचार गर्यो छोराले। उसले आफ्नो छोरालाई डोको लिएर आउनकालागि अह्रायो।  डोको आईपुगेपछि उसले भन्यो,"बुबा, डोकोमा बस्नुस्।  हामी घुम्न जाने।"

डोकोमा राखेर आफ्नो बाबुलाई जंगलमा लग्यो।  साथमा उसको छोरा पनि थियो। जंगलको एउटा भिरमा पुगेपछि, भीरको छेउमा, डोको बिसायो र तेहींबाट बाबुलाई खसाल्ने बिचार गर्यो।  अनुभवी बुढोले आफ्नो छोराको नियत बुझेर भन्यो,"छोरा, खसाउने भए यो भीरबाट मलाई मात्र खसा र डोको फिर्ता लग्। तेरो छोराले आज जुन कुरा सिक्यो, त्यसकोलागि यो डोको पछि उसलाई काम लाग्नेछ।" 

The World

A father was trying to read the newspaper, but his little son kept pestering him.

Finally, the father grew tired of this and, tearing a page from the newspaper – one that bore a map of the world – he cut it into several pieces and handed them to his son.

‘I’ve given you a map of the world and I want to see if you can put it back together correctly.’

He resumed his reading, thinking that the task would keep the child occupied for the rest of the day.

However, a quarter of an hour later, the boy returned with the map.

‘Has your mother been teaching you geography?’ asked his father in astonishment.

‘I don’t even know what that is,’ replied the boy. ‘But there was a photo of a man on the other side of the page, so I put the man back together and found I’d put the world back together too.’

Moral : If the man is right, the world is right.

विश्व 

एकजना पीता पत्रिका पढ्न खोज्दैथियो।  तर सानो छोराले पढ्न दिईरहेकोथिएन।  अन्तमा पिताले विश्व नक्शा भएको एउटा ठुलो कागजलाई टुक्रा टुक्रा गरी छोरालाई दिंदै भन्यो,"यो टुक्राहरू जोडेर फेरी विश्वको नक्शा बनाऊ  ल।"

अब यो मिलाउन दिनभरी लाग्छ भनि सोच्दै पीता फेरी पत्रिका पढ्न तर्फ फर्के। तर छोरा करिब पौने एक घण्टा जति मा नै विश्व नक्शा सहित फर्किए। 

"तिम्रो आमाले तिमीलाई भूगोल पढ़ाउदैछ  कि क्या हो?", पिताले सोधे। 

"खै मलाई त भूगोल भनेको पनि थाहा छैन। तपाइले दिनुभएको कागजको पछाडितिर एउटा मान्छेको मुहारको तस्बिर थियो।  मैले त्यो मान्छेको मुहार मिलाएँ र उता फर्काउदा विश्व नक्शा आफै मिल्न आयो।"

पाठ : मान्छे ठिक भयो भने विश्व ठिक हुने रहेछ।  

Be the Best of Whatever You are

-By Douglas Malloch

If you can't be a pine on the top of the hill,

Be a scrub in the valley — but be

The best little scrub by the side of the rill;

Be a bush if you can't be a tree.

If you can't be a bush be a bit of the grass,

And some highway happier make;

If you can't be a muskie then just be a bass —

But the liveliest bass in the lake!

We can't all be captains, we've got to be crew,

There's something for all of us here,

There's big work to do, and there's lesser to do,

And the task you must do is the near.

If you can't be a highway then just be a trail,

If you can't be the sun be a star;

It isn't by size that you win or you fail —

Be the best of whatever you are!