Satori Café

One day, a woman lost her young son and just a few days before, her husband had also died. Kissa Goutami was her name, and now her only son had perished. She was in great despair for naturally, her child was her only hope. The Buddha happened to be passing through town and the people said: "Do not cry & do not weep. Why don't you take the child to the Buddha? He is so compassionate, perhaps he may revive him back to life." The woman upon hearing this, rushed with the dead body of the child to find him. When she had found him, Buddha looked at the woman, told her to put the child in front of him & said to her: "Yes, I will revive him, but you will have to fulfill one condition." The woman said: "I am ready to give even my life. Say any condition and I will fulfill it."  Buddha replied: "It is a simple condition, I never make big requirements of people, only small ones. This is a very simple task. Just go into town and bring a few mustard se

  One day, a psychology professor entered the classroom with half a glass of water in his hand. The students expected the old common question: "Is it half empty or half full?"  But to their surprise, he asked them: "How heavy is this glass of water?"  The answers given by the students ranged from 7 ounces. to 25 ounces. But the professor replied that the actual weight of the glass doesn't really matter. What matters is how long you hold the glass in your hand.  If you hold the glass for a minute, you won't feel much weight. But if you hold it for ten minutes, you will feel a little more weight. And as more time goes on, the heavier this glass of water will be. So if you hold the glass for an entire day, your hands will go numb from the pain.  You would have cramps & feel exhausted, and your only wish would be to drop or lay down that glass of water. But similarly is the case when you carry stress or pain with you. If you think about stress or pain for a

  "Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom".     -Aristotle Journaling is the habit of keeping a diary or a written record about one's ideas, thoughts, experiences, aspirations, insights and anything else that touches us in our daily lives. In a way, it can be said to be a reflection of one's heart & soul written on paper. One of the most famous and timeless transformative diaries that humanity has ever come to know is one written by Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius. Although his collection of private thoughts (known as Meditations ) are well known by readers and philosophers around the world now, Marcus Aurelius never intended for his journal to be published. Most likely, as being an emperor, one of the most powerful men in the ancient world, he could not find anyone who was of equal status or intellect to relate his thoughts & life experience to. S o therefore, he resorted to pen and paper as an outlet.  But it could also be the fact that he knew of the

Once upon a time, there lived a sage who was known for his ability to solve difficult problems. One day, he had two visitors who needed his advice. Both were polite young men, and each insisted that the other should go first.  After some discussion, they discovered that their questions were essentially the same, so they settled on speaking with the sage at the same time. One of the young men asked: "Master, our problems are similar. We are both low-level employees being treated badly at work. We get no respect at all, and our employers constantly push us around. Can you please tell us if we should quit our jobs?" The sage closed his eyes & meditated at length. The two young men waited patiently, until finally the sage opened his eyes.  He gave them the answer in five words: "Only a bowl of rice." The two young men thanked the sage and departed. They contemplated the answer as they walked back to the city.  After a while, one of them broke the silence: "That

  The Hedgehogs It was the coldest winter on record, and many animals died because of it. The hedgehogs, realizing the situation decided to group together to keep warm. This way, they covered and protected themselves from the biting cold.  However, the quills of each one wounded their closest companions. And after a while, they decided to distance themselves from one another, and they begun to die, frozen & alone.  So they had to make a choice. Either accept the quills of their companions or disappear from the earth.  Wisely enough, they all decided to go back to being together. They learned to live with the little wounds caused by their close relationship with their companions in order to receive the heat that came from them. This way, they were able to survive the harsh winter. The best relationship is not the one that brings together perfect people, but when each individual learns to live with the imperfections of others, and try to admire the good qualities of  the other person