A rich man born out of giving!
Given below is a mythological story from Japan about the beauty of giving to others and it tells us how we can receive the most perfect gifts when we're giving and grateful of what we own.
Here is the story.
Once upon a time, there lived a young farmer of very modest means. Whatever he tried to do did not find fruition and he always remained penniless. He was completely broke without any money, without any food and with no relatives. So one night, totally despondent, he went to a temple and sat near the altar begging the Gods to show him a way.
"I have always been truthful and assiduous, but all my industry never resulted in anything good for me. What did I do wrong?"
He slept at the feet of the deity after having put that question. In the morning, just as he woke up, one of the Gods of his dream appeared before him enveloped in a brilliant golden light. The voice of the God resounded in his mind.
"When you wake up in the morning, cherish what you have in your hand and go on giving it to others liberally as you proceed," the God commanded.
The farmer opened his eyes. There were many things that he wanted to ask but he managed to pull himself up and tried to remove the confusion of the strange dream. But there seemed to be a piece of straw in his hand. It must have remained stuck on his dress while he worked in his land.
He nearly dropped it to the ground, but stopped for a moment remembering what the God said. He sat down again. And looked at the straw.
He sat still for a long time thinking what this meant. He had no clue why a piece of straw can be of any value to him. Then he saw a wasp flying around. It eventually landed on the tip of the straw. He caught the wasp and tied it to the straw with a piece of thread from his clothes. Now with a piece of straw with a flying wasp at the end, off he went on the path.
He had gone a little way when he found a small boy and his mother coming towards him from the other end of the road. The boy was weeping. When he said hello to the boy, the child noticed the straw that the man had with a wasp at one end. He stopped his weeping and wanted to have the straw. The farmer was hesitant to give it but then he remembered that God had asked him to value what we owned and also give it to others profusely. So he gave the straw to the boy. The mother was relieved as the boy stopped crying when he got the straw and the wasp. In return she gave the man three tangerines.
The farmer continued on. And as he walked, he began feeling a little hungry. He thought of eating the tangerines but he reminded himself it was about giving the gift to others, not to himself.
As he went over a steep hill, he saw a merchant sitting down on the ground by a tree. Next to him was a wooden box. The farmer said hello to the merchant. He seemed to be exhausted. The merchant saw the tangerines in the farmer's hand and asked if he minded giving him the tangerines. He said he was so thirsty.
The farmer was as thirsty as the trader as he had been walking for long on that hot day. Nevertheless, he offered the tangerines to the trader, who then ate all the three tangerines and felt recharged. He felt very happy about the help rendered to him and opened the wooden box that was by his side. Inside the box were rolls of silk that was dyed with hand. The merchant gifted the farmer one roll and proceeded on his way.
So off the farmer went again following the path. He found a stream along the way and he took a deep drink making him feel totally refreshed. Life seemed to be easier and was flowing now.
The farmer walked and walked not seeing anyone for a long time. He started to think that maybe this was it - his fortune. So, he decided to go to the nearby town to sell the fabric.
And just when he turned the corner, he saw a group of warriors. One of the warriors who seemed to be the leader was standing by a horse lying on the ground. The farmer heard the voice of the warrior talking to his followers.
"It does not appear that this horse would live much. We will have to leave it here. Nurse it well and catch up with me." With this the leader jumped on to another horse and rode off, moving out of people's sight.
The remaining soldiers were left discussing what to do about it. They were reluctant to kill the animal but they did not have much of a choice. At last one of them took out a sword.
The farmer pleaded with them not to do that. He said he was ready to look after the animal. He said they can have the bolt of silk for letting him care for the horse. They agreed to the deal and left the place quickly.
Now the farmer stood there with a dying horse. He thought he might have made a mistake that after all he was not meant to be wealthy. Then he remembered something. There was the stream he'd just passed.
He turned back and went to the river, removed his shirt and immersed it in the river to get water for the horse. He went back to the animal lying on the earth and pressed the water out of the shirt gently into its mouth. As the water went inside drop by drop, the animal slowly got recharged and finally the farmer was able to help it stand up.
The horse finally stood up on its legs so the farmer could take the horse to the stream. As the horse took more water and ate some fresh green grass around the stream, it soon began to regain strength.
So now the farmer owned the horse! The man and the animal traveled together, and the farmer had to run as the horse led the way. They traveled together for miles. Finally, as the sun was setting, the horse came to a halt in front of a big house. The animal pushed the farmer towards the gate when he finally drew level with it.
When the farmer moved towards it, the gates opened and an old man came out of the house. The old man had dashed out of the house and he looked wan. He spotted the horse and the farmer, both just in front of the house.
The man queried the farmer what he wanted. The farmer replied that he was in need of a place to retire for the night. The old man in his turn said that he had to go to the town on an important matter and requested the farmer to be in charge of the house till such time that he returned. He said that his returning might get delayed.
Since the old man appeared to be in a hurry, the farmer said that he can use the horse. The old man felt glad about the gesture and accepted the offer. He left with the horse but before he left told the farmer something strange.
"If I do not come back in three years' time, this house belongs to you."
As you possibly deduced, the old man did not come back.
The farmer stayed in the big house for the remainder of his life with a land that yielded a rich harvest and had friendly neighbours. And he always remembered to give away whatever he had.
Thank you for going through this story. And what is the message that it contains?
Maybe there is a key to something. When we can turn our 'getting game' into a 'giving game', our life often flows bringing more abundance. But it is not always easy to practice the old wisdom in our real life.
Here are some of the interesting distinctions we can find in this story :
* When we are ready to give what others need, they will consider it more valuable than while we are trying to 'trade' it (as basically we are always hopeful of getting something out of that transaction), as then they only consider the price we ask for and tend to pay less.
* When we are not possessive of whatever we have, we will perceive that we thereby have more chances as we can release the existing possessions.
* When we are down and out with the problems of life, instead of worrying about the negativities if we kept focus more on giving others and caring for them, life would surely bring glad tidings later.
* When we try to 'cash in' what we have built up, thinking that "this is the best it gets", because we think we may lose out it if we do not cash in now, our life's growth often ends there. What if instead, we continued to be giving generously no matter what we owned or how physically wealthy we were or were not.
Giving is part of many successful people's lives. When we give first, we have more chance of living a life of magnificence, ease and expansion.
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