Target

Whenever someone with a lot of money but little hunting experience arrived in Viscos, he would take them out to a piece of waste ground. There, he would place a beer can on top of a stone. Then he would stand about fifty yards from the can and, with a single shot, send it flying. 

'I'm the best shot in the region,' he would say. 'And now you're going to learn how to become as good as me.'

He replaced the can on the same stone, walked back to where he had stood before, took a handkerchief out of his pocket and asked the newcomer to blindfold him. Then he aimed once more in the direction of the target and fired again. 

'Did I hit it?' he would ask, removing the blindfold. 

'Of course not,' the new arrival would say, pleased to see the proud guide humbled. 'You missed it by a mile. I don't think there's anything you can teach me.' 

'I've just taught you the most important lesson in life,' Berta's husband would reply. 'Whenever you want to achieve something, keep your eyes open, concentrate and make sure you know exactly what it is you want. No one can hit their target with their eyes closed.'

- From The Devil and Miss Prym By Paulo Coelho

Heaven

Once upon a time, a man, his horse and his dog were travelling along a road. As they passed by a huge tree, it was struck by lightning, and they all died. But the man failed to notice that he was no longer of this world and so he continued walking along with his two animal companions. Sometimes the dead take a while to register their new situation. It was a long, uphill walk, the sun was beating down on them and they were all sweating and thirsty. At a bend in the road they saw a magnificent marble gateway that led into a gold-paved square, in the centre of which was a fountain overflowing with crystal-clear water. The man went over to the guard at the entrance.' "Good morning." 

"Good morning," the guard replied.

"What is this lovely place?" 

"It's Heaven." 

"Well, I'm very glad to see it, because we're very thirsty." 

"You're welcome to come in and drink all the water you want." And the guard indicated the fountain. 

"My horse and dog are also thirsty." 

"I'm terribly sorry," said the guard, "but animals are not allowed in here." 

The man was deeply disappointed for he really was very thirsty, but he was not prepared to drink alone, so he thanked the guard and went on his way. Exhausted after trudging uphill, they reached an old gateway that led on to a dirt road flanked by trees. A man, his hat down over his face, was stretched out in the shade of one of the trees, apparently asleep. '"Good morning," said the traveller. 

The other man greeted him with a nod. "'We're very thirsty - me, my horse and my dog." 

"There's a spring over there amongst those rocks," said the man indicating the spot. "You can drink all you want." 

The man, his horse and his dog went to the spring and quenched their thirst. The traveller returned to thank the man. "Come back whenever you want," he was told. '"By the way, what's this place called?" 

"Heaven." 

"Heaven? But the guard at the marble gateway told me that was Heaven!" 

"That's not Heaven, that's Hell." 

The traveller was puzzled. "You shouldn't let others take your name in vain, you know! False information can lead to all kinds of confusion!" 

"On the contrary, they do us a great favour, because the Ones who stay there are those who have proved themselves capable of abandoning their dearest ones."

- From The Devil and Miss Prym By Paulo Coelho

Potato, Egg or Coffee?

Once upon a time a daughter complained to her father that her life was miserable and that she didn’t know how she was going to make it. She was tired of fighting and struggling all the time. It seemed just as one problem was solved, another one soon followed. Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire.

Once the three pots began to boil, he placed potatoes in one pot, eggs in the second pot and ground coffee beans in the third pot. He then let them sit and boil, without saying a word to his daughter. The daughter, moaned and impatiently waited, wondering what he was doing. After twenty minutes he turned off the burners. He took the potatoes out of the pot and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. He then ladled the coffee out and placed it in a cup.

Turning to her, he asked. “Daughter, what do you see?”

“Potatoes, eggs and coffee,” she hastily replied.

“Look closer”, he said, “and touch the potatoes.” She did and noted that they were soft.

He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. Its rich aroma brought a smile to her face.

“Father, what does this mean?” she asked.

He then explained that the potatoes, the eggs and coffee beans had each faced the same adversity-the boiling water. However, each one reacted differently. The potato went in strong, hard and unrelenting, but in boiling water, it became soft and weak. The egg was fragile, with the thin outer shell protecting its liquid interior until it was put in the boiling water. Then the inside of the egg became hard. However, the ground coffee beans were unique. After they were exposed to the boiling water, they changed the water and created something new.

“Which one are you?” he asked his daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a potato, an egg, or a coffee bean?”

Small Action

"I keep thinking about Ahab, our great hero and reformer, the man who was blessed by St. Savin."

"Why Ahab?"

Because he could see that even the most insignificant of actions, however well intentioned, can destroy everything. They say that after he had brought peace to the village, driven away the remaining outlaws and modernised agriculture and trade in Viscos, he invited his friends to supper and cooked a succulent piece of meat for them. Suddenly he realised there was no salt. 

So Ahab called to his son: "Go to the village and buy some salt, but pay a fair price for it: neither too much nor too little."

His son was surprised: "I can understand why I shouldn't pay too much for it, father, but if I can bargain them down, why not pay a bit less?"

"That would be the sensible thing to do in a big city, but in a small village like ours it could spell the beginning of the end."

The boy left without asking any further questions. However, Ahab's guests, who had overheard their conversation, wanted to know why they should not buy the salt more cheaply if they could.

Ahab replied: "The only reason anyone would sell salt more cheaply usually would be because he was desperate for money. Anyone who took advantage of that situation would be showing a lack of respect for the sweat and struggle of the man who laboured to produce it."

"But such a small thing couldn't possibly destroy a village."

"In the beginning, there was only a small amount of injustice abroad in the world, but everyone who came afterwards added their portion, always thinking it was very small and unimportant, and look where we have ended up today."

- From "The Devil and Miss Prym" By Paulo Coelho

The Raja and The Shepherd

A rich and powerful raja was convinced in his heart that no one was as powerful as he was. One day he began to wonder if anyone knew he believed this. So he called together all his officers and servants and asked them to tell him what they thought was in his heart. Many of them made guesses, but no one could satisfy the raja with his answer.

Then the raja ordered his minister to find him someone who could see into his heart and he gave the minister one month's time to find this genius. The minister searched everywhere but as the month came to a close he was no closer to success. However, he had a clever daughter who said that she could find the right man for him. Knowing his daughter's wisdom, he entrusted the job to her.

When the appointed day arrived his daughter brought home a simpleton, a shepherd by trade, and asked her father to take him to the raja. She also asked her father to request the raja to converse only in sign language. The minister was horrified but he saw he had no alternative and he took the shepherd to the court of the raja.

The court had assembled and the raja was waiting. When the shepherd looked up at the raja, the raja held up a single finger. At this the shepherd held up two fingers. Then the raja held up three fingers, but at this the fellow shook his head violently and tried to run away. The the raja laughed and seemed very pleased. He praised the minister for bringing him such a clever man and richly rewarded him.

The minister was confused. He couldn't understand what happened and begged the raja to explain.

"When I held up one finger", said the raja, "I asked him if I alone was this powerful. By holding up two fingers, he reminded me that there is also God, who is at least as powerful as I am. Then I asked him if there was a third, and he denied that there was anyone else. The man really read my heart. I've been thinking that I alone was powerful, but he reminded me that there is God as well, but no third."

That night, still confused, the minister asked the shepherd what had happened. The poor man explained, "I've only got three sheep of my own. When you took me before the raja, he held up one finger, meaning he wanted one of my sheep. As he is a great raja, I offered to give him two. But when he held up three fingers to show that he wanted all three of my sheep, I became afraid and I tried to run away."

- Source: http://www.nozen.com/silent1.htm