Foster Understanding
Foster Understanding of oneself means to promote, encourage and cultivate a deeper self awareness and self knowledge. It involves exploring and comprehending one's own thoughts, emotions, values, strengths, weaknesses and motivations.
Lion or Fox-What do you Want to be
Long ago, a man seeking spiritual enlightenment decided to leave the comforts of his home and retreat to the solitude of the forest. He wanted to meditate and connect with the divine in the quiet embrace of nature. Each day, he would meditate under the shade of a large tree, listening to the rustle of leaves and the songs of birds.
However, his meditation sessions were often interrupted by hunger. Every time he felt hungry, he would leave the forest and walk to the nearby town to find food. This routine began to bother him as he felt it distracted him from his spiritual practice.
The Crippled Fox
One day, as the man sat under the tree, he noticed something unusual. A crippled fox crawled into the clearing. The fox was thin and frail, and its hind legs were paralyzed. The man wondered how the fox could survive in the wild, where food was scarce and predators roamed freely.
As he watched, a lion appeared from the dense forest, carrying a fresh kill in its jaws. The lion approached the crippled fox and, to the man’s amazement, dropped a portion of the meat in front of it. The fox devoured the offering with great eagerness, while the lion ate the rest and walked away majestically into the woods.
The man was astonished. He thought to himself, “This must be a message from God. If a crippled fox can survive because a lion feeds it every day, then surely the divine will provide for me as well. I just need to trust and surrender.”
The Decision to Stop Seeking Food
Inspired by what he had witnessed, the man decided to stop going to the town to seek food. He thought, “If I truly trust in the divine, I must stop taking matters into my own hands. Just like the fox, I will wait for God to provide for me.”
The man sat under the tree and continued his meditation. A day passed, then two, then three, but no food came. His body grew weak, but he remained steadfast in his belief. By the seventh day, he was frail, hungry, and barely able to sit upright.
The Wise Yogi's Arrival
On the seventh day, a wandering yogi passed by the clearing and saw the man sitting under the tree, weak and starving. Concerned, the yogi approached him and asked, “What has happened to you? Why do you look so weak and frail?”
The man explained, “I was meditating here in the forest when I saw a crippled fox being fed by a lion. I took it as a divine sign and decided to surrender completely, trusting that God would provide for me, just as He provided for the fox.”
The yogi listened patiently, then smiled and said, “My dear friend, you have misunderstood the message.”
Surprised, the man asked, “What do you mean? Wasn’t the message to trust in divine providence?”
The yogi replied, “Yes, but the message was not for you to imitate the crippled fox. It was for you to be the generous lion! Why are you acting like the helpless fox, waiting for someone to care for you? Instead, rise and use your strength to help others and share what you have.”
The man was struck by the yogi’s words. He realized that he had misinterpreted the situation. The lesson was not to wait passively for help but to take action and be a source of kindness and support for others.
The Transformation
The man thanked the yogi for opening his eyes to the true meaning of the divine message. With newfound energy and purpose, he got up and went to the town to find food. He vowed to nourish his body so he could continue his spiritual practice and help others in need. From that day onward, he dedicated himself to being like the lion—strong, generous, and a source of goodness in the world.
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MORAL OF THE STORY
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We always have a choice: Life gives us the choice to be proactive and helpful (like the lion) or passive and dependent (like the fox). Choose the path that uplifts not just yourself but others too.
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Don’t misunderstand divine messages: The true message of the divine often lies in action, strength, and compassion, not in passivity.
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Help others when you can: True enlightenment comes from using your strength and abilities to care for others, rather than waiting to be helped.
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Self-reliance is key: Trusting the divine doesn’t mean avoiding responsibility. It means acting in alignment with universal values like compassion and service.
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True Nature
Once there was a sheep who saw a baby in the jungle lying down on the grass and crying. The sheep took it home and nursed it.
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It started growing very fast. Once he bacame little big the sheep took him to school for learning survival skills. The teacher asked him to chew grass but it couldn't do it.
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Teacher said go to a psychologist. He said its ok and i do not know why he cannot learn, the sheep said. Both became sad.
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Once they were in the jungle and a lion suddenly came. Eing scared, everyone ran away. The little baby stayed so lion took him to the river and when both looked and the baby found that he looked more like him and not like a sheep. Thats when he realised that he was a lion baby and thus was born to rule the jungle.
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MORAL OF THE STORY
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Everyone has potential but one needs to look inside to understand ones potential.
Buddha's Wisdom
Once Gautam Buddha’s aunt came to him with her dead baby and asked him to revive the child. Buddha told her he would do so but that she needed to get him a vital ingredient for the resurrection: salt from a house which had never seen a death.
The woman ran door-to-door the whole day but didn’t find such a house. At dusk she fell at the Buddha’s feet and said she understands. She isn’t the only one to have suffered the loss of a loved one.
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MORAL OF THE STORY
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Stop feeling victimised. Everyone goes through pain.
The Washerman and the Donkey
A washerman visited a village every day. He went to every house in the town, collected all the dirty clothes, loaded them up on his donkey, and set off to the river. After reaching the river, he gasped in horror.
He had forgotten the rope at home. He panicked and looked in all directions for some help. Without his rope, he could not tie his donkey to a tree. If the donkey remained untied, it could walk away, and he would lose his livelihood. If he went back to the village, he would not have enough time to return and wash the clothes. He would lose his day’s work, which meant he could not earn money to feed the family.
He was sweating anxiously when a wise man walked up to him and asked him about his troubles. After listening to his story, the wise man smiled and offered the washerman a suggestion.
“Pretend to tie the donkey with a rope and go to the river. The donkey will graze and wait for you here.”
The washerman was astounded, but because he lacked other options, he tried it out. He took an imaginary rope, wound it around the donkey’s neck, and pretended to tie it to a tree.
He walked a few steps and saw that the donkey had begun grazing. He walked all the way to the river, and the donkey had not moved.
The washerman spent all day washing his clothes peacefully, dried the clothes, and loaded them back on the donkey. He pats the donkey and signals that they are ready to go, but the donkey does not move. The washerman is puzzled when the wise man appears and reminds the washerman to untie the donkey. The washerman opens the imaginary rope, and the donkey starts trotting off to the village.
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MORAL OF THE STORY
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We limit ourself my our own conditioning of mind.We are free but we believe that we have to find a key to our prison. That key could be more money, freedom, passion, true love, or any other desire.
Nothing is Permanent
A Zen master was given a beautifully crafted crystal cup. It was a gift from a former student.
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He was very grateful. Every day, he enjoyed drinking out of his glass. He would show it to visitors and tell them about the kindness of his student.
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But every morning, he held the cup in his hand for a few seconds and reminded himself: “This glass is already broken.”
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One day, a clumsy visitor toppled the glass on its shelf. The cup fell down. When it hit the floor, it was smashed into thousands of tiny pieces.
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The other visitors gasped in shock, but the Zen master remained calm. Looking at the mess in front of his feet, he said: “Ah. Yes. Let’s begin.”
He picked up a broom and started sweeping.
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MORAL OF THE STORY
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Nothing is permanent so we should maintain our equilibrium at all times.
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