Ancient Tales of Wisdom

Salvation of Sentient Beings

Three monks were discussing what was the hardest to come by in this world.The first monk said, “The hardest thing to obtain is youth, health, and longevity. You may be rich, but if you are old and sick, you cannot enjoy anything.”

The second monk said, “The hardest thing to find in this world is someone who knows you and is also your loyal partner. If you are in a powerful position, but you don’t have someone who will support you and care about you, you are just like a flower without its fragrance and the hovering butterflies.”

The third monk said, “Nice relatives. They are the hardest to find. If one has only a healthy body and a best friend, but with relatives fighting all the time, what good would that be? Every day would be like living in Hell.”

A Buddha from Heaven heard the discussion and decided to call for a big meeting. It was autumn and the breeze was cool and refreshing. The Buddha told the monks, “The hardest to come by on the planet Earth is not health, not a wonderful partner, and not nice relatives. I would like to tell you a story.”

At the bottom of the ocean, there is a blind turtle, which has had a lot of living experiences. There is also a piece of driftwood with a hole in the middle that floats along in the wind. It is difficult enough for a blind turtle to surface, once in a hundred years, let alone to find a piece of drift wood with a hole in the middle, so it can carry the turtle safely to the shore. A blind turtle meeting a piece of driftwood may have a probability of one in ten thousand. If anyone wants to have a human body, I would say it is about ten thousand times harder than a blind turtle wanting to get to the shore.

Then the Buddha put some dirt into his hand, opened his hand, and said, “The beings who have a human body are like the dirt in my hand, a very small amount, but the beings who fail to obtain a human body are like the huge ground. A human body is the hardest to come by. You monks need to listen and think about that.”

Once you lose your human body, it may take another ten thousand years to regain it. This is not an old saying from the Buddhist scripture, but the true realization of life. We need to cherish our lifetimes and our predestined relationships here and now. What is the hardest to come by? Nothing other than a human body. Human beings are the masters of all lives and only human beings are allowed to cultivate and become a Buddha or a Tao.

We came into this world with nothing and will leave this world with nothing. Fame and fortune will be left behind. In this human maze, being enslaved by fame and wealth as well as accumulating more karma, we eventually will get what we deserve. Good deeds will be rewarded and bad deeds will meet with retribution. Cherish the present. Follow the great way of Dafa cultivation and return to one’s true self is the purpose of life.