Listen to Grandpa Lu telling stories （1）01-10（听卢爷爷讲故事（一） 01-10 英文版）

Story 1. Determination goes a long way

There was once a little monk who was preparing for a journey to advance his studies in Buddhism. Knowing that the little monk’s faith was still not strong enough, his Master asked, “When will you set off?”

The little monk answered, “Master, I will set off next week. Considering the long distance, I want to prepare a few more pairs of straw sandals.”

The Master replied, “Tomorrow I will tell everyone to give you straw sandals.”

In the following days, everyone provided the little monk with pairs of straw sandals. In case it would rain when the little monk set off, he was also given so many umbrellas that they filled the whole meditation room.

However, the little monk was still hesitant to leave. The Master saw this and asked, “How many straw scandals will be sufficient? How many umbrellas will you need?”, encouraging the little monk to hurry and begin his journey.

One week later, the Master came again and said, “Now you have enough umbrellas and sandals. You’ll probably come across small rivers and streams on your way. Tomorrow I will ask everyone to donate a boat for you to take with you.” Suddenly the little monk realised the Master’s good intentions. He knelt down immediately and exclaimed, “Master, I will set off right away! I won’t take any of the sandals or umbrellas with me. They will only cause affliction.”

This story teaches us that complete preparations are secondary to determination and resolve. When setting a goal, put your heart into it. With your eyes fixed on the distant horizon, you move forward steadily. Every step you take is a step closer to your goal. With your full devotion, everything will be ready for you. Bear in mind that, as long as you learn Buddhism with your heart and soul, you will attain all kinds of wisdom!

Story 2. Three prisoners

Once there were three men in jail. The warden informed them, “I’ll give each of you a chance to make a request.” The American asked for three cases of cigarettes, the Frenchman asked for three women to accompany him, and the Jewish man said all he needed was a phone with which he could communicate with the outside world.

Three years later, when they were released, the American used up all the cigarettes and couldn’t help shouting, “I want more cigarettes!” and he left. The Frenchman held a child in one arm with another child in the other arm and a third in his third lover’s belly and left. Only the Jewish man held the warden’s hand, saying “Thank you so much, sir! During the past three years, I have been in contact with the outside world every day with the phone, and my business has been getting better and better, and the profits doubled. To express my gratitude, I’ll give you a car.”

This story shows us that the kind of choice a person makes will make a great difference to the kind of life he will lead. The life we have today is the outcome of our past choices. If we want to have a better life, we need to make better choices. If we want to have a better future, we should choose to cultivate our minds and practice Buddhism well in the present.

Story 3. The southern expedition of Emperor Qianlong

Once, Emperor Qianlong visited the South of China. He saw many ships come and go in the Grand Canal in a hubbub. In the midst of the great commotion, the Emperor sighed, “So many ships go back and forth, what on earth are they doing?”

Minister Shen He respectfully answered, “Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, there are only two ships sailing on the river.”

“Which two?”

“One for fame, and another for fortune.”

Many people live for fame and fortune but end up being tied down by them. We suffer because we cannot let go of them. Once we possess money, we cannot let money go; once we fall in love, we cannot let affection go; and once we’ve built a career, we cannot let our career go.

Fame and fortune produce stress, like a yoke upon our soul. They are the source of our limitation and vexation, so we should learn to let them go. What happened yesterday is gone, and what happens in the future is yet to come. We should seize today to seek liberation from everything on earth. If we become attached to a bottomless desire for materialistic enjoyment, we will drown ourselves in sorrow and never be liberated.

Fame and fortune produce stress, like a yoke upon our soul, and are the source of human limitation, so we should learn how to let them go.

Story 4. Fair exchange

There was a Colonel in the military who proved his valour by accomplishing victories in countless battles and was later promoted to General by the President. One day, when he was debriefing the President, he said, “Mr President, I brought some booty from our enemies for myself after the battle, but I could not bring it in at the border. Could you please help me out?”

The President said, “Just make a list.” The General handed him the list. The President quickly signed the paper and added a few words to it. The General was very excited, yet he saw the President referring to him as “Colonel” instead of “General”. The General was puzzled, “Mr President, I think you’re mistaken. I am a General.” The President said to him, “No, I’m not. This is perfectly correct. This is what we call an exchange. “

You get what you work for. If you get what you are not supposed to get, what you pay in exchange will be worth far more than what you get.”

Story 5. Adversity makes you stronger

There was a young man who was very unfortunate. When he was ten years old, his mother passed away. His father was driving a long-distance bus, so he had to wash and cook on his own. Seven years later, his father died in a car accident. He became poor with no one to depend on and had to learn to support himself.

At the age of twenty, the young man lost his left leg in an occupational accident. He could only walk with the aid of a crutch. He spent all his savings setting up a fish farm. One day, a flood swept away the fish farm and ruined all his life savings and hopes.

He went to the temple and knelt down in front of the Buddha, weeping. “Buddha, why do you treat me so unfairly?” That night, the Buddha said in his dream, “Why do you feel that I have treated you unfairly?” The young man told all his misfortunes to the Buddha and the Buddha said, “My poor child, then why do you keep living in the human world?” After hearing this, the young man roared with anger, “I will not die. I have undergone so much suffering and I am eliminating my karma. Some day in the future, I will have no hindrance of karma and I will live a happy life.”

The Buddha said, “I will open the door of hell and you can look inside.” The Buddha then pointed to a ghost and said, “He was lucky. He had a very smooth and wealthy life before his death, but in the end, just like you, he lost all his wealth in a flood. Unlike you, he committed suicide and became a ghost, but you’re still alive.”

This story tells us that different destinies make different personalities. We must understand that undergoing suffering and hardship eliminates karma. A person who can accept reality is one who knows how to change reality. We as Buddhist practitioners only suffer temporarily, and non-practitioners will suffer continuously.

Bear in mind that what we suffer now eliminates our karma!

Story 6. An unhappy painter

A painter had a habit of napping in the afternoon at home. Being physically and mentally healthy, he felt at ease. However, nowadays the painter can’t fall asleep because two of his paintings were unexpectedly sold at a very high price. Whenever he thinks of his bank account balance that shows a long string of numbers, he just can’t contain his excitement.

Later, with his rising reputation, the painter becomes busier than ever as he frequently attends social activities and dinner parties. He has to give up his afternoon nap and he suffers from insomnia at night. His health gets worse and worse with his mind in chaos.

He used to enjoy painting and having tea, living in a world free from the pursuit of fame and wealth. He never worried about his sleep, as if he were in heaven. Ever since he found fame and fortune, he felt like stepping into hell.

The happiness of life is not how much property you own or what position you are in, but how you lead your life. By not being entangled by fame and fortune, you will achieve real liberation, which is what Buddhists often say.

Bear in mind that those who enjoy a liberated life will have a real life!

Story 7. A loving heart is what matters

There was a lonely old man in the United Kingdom whose wife and children were all gone. He lived alone in a large house with a garden. He was ill and frail. He decided to move to a nursing home and announced the sale of his beautiful house. The asking price was 80,000 pounds and the market value soon rose to 100,000 pounds. If it were not for health problems, he would not have sold the house that accompanied him for most of his life. He felt depressed.

A plain-dressed young man came to see the old man and bent down sincerely saying, “Dear Sir, I really want to buy this house, but I only have 10,000 pounds. If you sell it to me, I will let you live here with me, having tea, reading newspapers, taking a walk every day. I will keep you happy. Please believe me, I will take care of you with my whole heart.” After some thought, the old man sold the house to the young man with a smile for 10,000 pounds.

This story tells us that if we want to fulfill our dreams in the world, we don’t have to compete with each other, nor do we need to cheat others. As long as we have a loving heart, we will make our dreams come true.

Story 8. An arrogant monkey

During the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States periods in China (771-221BC), the King of Wu climbed up the Monkey Mountain. All the monkeys fled away upon seeing so many people in armour, except one which swung and jumped from branch to branch to show off his agility.

The king shot the monkey with an arrow but surprisingly, the monkey caught the arrow. The king was angry, and ordered his followers to shoot the monkey simultaneously, and it was killed.

The king approached Buyi Yan and said, “This monkey was asking for his doom by trying to show off his dexterity and despising me, the king. You too, watch your demeanour and don’t be arrogant.”

Buyi Yan was horrified and sought help from sage Wu Dong to get rid of his arrogance. He wanted to become humble and improve his disposition.

The sage told him, “A Buddhist would see through the vanity of the world and let it go. Be cautious, as working for a king is as dangerous as getting along with a tiger.” Since then, Buyi Yan was no longer proud of himself, stayed far away from fame and vanity, declined glory, splendour, wealth and rank, and finally regained the appreciation of the king.

As a Buddhist practitioner, you cannot be haughty. You cannot frequently judge others relying on your limited capability, talent, and knowledge of Buddhism, since you may not know what you possess represents only a small amount in the eyes of others. Being arrogant usually does not end well. As Buddhist practitioners, we should refrain from being arrogant; instead, our minds should remain tranquil like still water. Only when you are calm can you discover the truth of this world.

Bear in mind only when you are calm can you discover the truth of this world.

Story 9. A quack doctor

Once there was a quack doctor who always misdiagnosed his patients and caused their deaths. Someone’s son died because of his misdiagnosis. To compensate, he gave his own son to that person as his adopted son. Later, someone else’s died because of him, so he gave his own maid to the person as compensation.

One night, someone knocked at his door pleading, “Please help, doctor, my wife has severe abdominal pain. Would you please come to my house and treat her?” The quack doctor then said to his wife, “My dear wife, you had better prepare for the moment of parting.”

We human beings should consider how to avoid wrongdoings rather than preparing useless compensations. In reality, people get used to mitigating consequences or making up for losses after doing the wrong thing. But why don’t we learn to understand the law of karma from the Buddha before starting something? Had we known the consequences we wouldn’t have started it in the first place. This is how we can avoid retributions. Hence, Buddhists should be cautious of all kinds of causes.

Bodhisattvas fear causes, whereas sentient beings fear consequences. As Buddhist practitioners, we should take causes seriously instead of fearing the consequences. Bear in mind that, when practicing Buddhism, we won’t fear the consequences as long as we take causes seriously！

Story 10. A story of Laozi

Laozi was a great philosopher in ancient China. One day, he asked his disciples to come to his bedside. With his mouth open, Laozi pointed at his mouth with his finger and asked his disciples, “What do you see inside, my disciples?”

However, none of the disciples could answer. Then Laozi told them, “All the teeth are gone, but the tongue remains.” That is to say, teeth cannot be maintained longer than the tongue, even though they are harder. And teeth may fall out quickly with age. Although they are full, their life is limited.  On the other hand, although the tongue is soft, it has great vitality, which can help you live in this world even without teeth.

Acting on our bad tempers will do harm to our life expectancy. If we want to conquer everything with an unyielding heart, we may be doomed to failure. If we are too stiff and harsh toward others, we won’t have a harmonious family and our friendship won’t last long. Bear in mind that, although the tongue is soft, it can overcome the hardness of the teeth. Just like making an apology to others, if we say a soft “I’m sorry, I will not do that again”, we may be forgiven by others.

The heart is like the tongue. If it is a little soft, we will have compassion. A person will be compassionate if they have a soft heart. On the other hand, if a person’s heart is as hard as a stone, they won’t be compassionate enough. Compassion will bring you eternal life. When you feel sympathetic to others, your life will be everlasting. You will become a kind-hearted person free from vulgar interests, and you will learn to protect other people’s “wisdom-life”. We should cultivate our compassion and apply the power of compassion to our life. In this way, we will certainly attain eternal life.