In The Bliss Of The Being

Thursday, October 28, 2010, 18:23

To be in the bliss of the being is the ultimate state in spirituality. An ancient Chinese story, a short story conveys the truth.

There was once a frog that lived in a shallow well. It once prided to a big turtle that lived in the Eastern Ocean, “Look at me, how well off I am ! I can go about the edge of the well when I go out and relax by a crevice in the bricks when I get back. I can wallow about with my head above water or dawdle ankle deep in the soft mud. Crabs and tadpoles cannot compete with me. I am the Master of this well ! So why don't you often come here to join me in the fun?"

The turtle of the Eastern Ocean put his left foot into the water and when he immersed his right, his claw caught on to something. He hence stepped back and began to talk of the Eastern Ocean, “It stretches more than a thousand miles and is about ten thousand feet deep. During the ancient days, there were floods for nine years out of ten. Yet the ocean remained changeless with its water level not increased.
In the later years, when droughts hit seven years out of eight, the ocean still remained changeless, with the water not decreased. That is why I prefer to live in the Eastern Ocean"

The frog became silent with shame.

The (Short) story thus portrays the truth that no pleasure can lure a person who abides in the bliss of his being.