When the great Zen Master Bankei held his seclusion-weeks of meditation, students from many parts of Japan came to attend. During one of these gatherings a student was caught stealing. The matter was reported to Master Bankei with the request that, the culprit be expelled. Bankei ignored the case.
Later the same student was caught stealing again, but again the Master disregarded the matter. This angered the other students, who drew up a petition asking for the dismissal of the thief, stating that, otherwise they would all leave Bankei and would study at some other place.
When Bankei had read the petition, he called all his students together. "You are wise brothers," he told them, "You know what is right and what is wrong. You may leave me and may go somewhere else to study if you wish. But this poor brother does not even know right from wrong. Who will teach him if I don’t? I am going to keep him here even if all of you leave."
A torrent of tears cleansed the face of the student who was stealing…. All the desire to steal had now vanished….
Moral of the Story …
Friends, when a flower blooms it releases fragrance. But a flower has limitations, as it is rooted in a bondage. But the fragrance has no bondage. It simply moves and rides on the winds, as it has no moorings in the earth.
Similarly, until and unless the inner being of a man flowers, the fragrance of compassion can not spread. Just like a fragrance, compassion is uncontaminated by any desire or any conditioning. It is uncorrupted by any motivation.
Compassion is not a discipline, hence it cannot be practiced. Friends, compassion is therapeutic, it is the purest form of love. When the consciousness blooms, compassion, grace and blissfulness simply follow behind as a shadow...!!
Have a Great Day Friends!!
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