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

Once upon a time, there was a boy whose family was very wealthy. One day, his father took him on a trip to the country, where he aimed to show his son how poor people lived.  So they arrived at a farm of a very poor family, as the father considered. They spent several days there.  On their return, the father asked his son if he liked the trip. "Oh, it was great father!" -the boy replied.  The father added: "Did you notice how poor people lived?", to which the boy replied: "Yes, I did father."  So he asked his son to tell him more details about his impressions from the trip.  "Well, we have only one dog, but they have four of them. In our garden there is a pool, while they have a river that has no end. We have got expensive lanterns, but they have the stars above their heads at night. We have the balcony, but they have the whole horizon. We have only a small piece of land, where as they have the endless fields. We buy food, buy they grow it. We have a

"Open the window of the mind. Allow the fresh air, new lights and new truths to enter."     -Amit Ray  For the most of us, as being adults working in a relentlessly fast-paced occupation, in a society that craves productivity as form of fuel source, we may, at one point or another, ridicule ourselves for spending "a little too much time" standing & staring outside the window.  We tend to beat ourselves up for having a short break in front of the world, presented to us through a thin layer of super-heated infused sand, soda ash, & limestone when we should be focusing on our projects or studies that are on today's to-do list.   Often times, we tend to equate window staring as a form of boredom, procrastination, distraction or daydreaming, for the act of cupping your chin in your hands near a pane of glass and letting your eyes drift into the distance does not seem to gather high prestige or positive recognition.  But perhaps there is a certain degree of gr

"If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at changes."     -Wayne Dyer Once upon a time, there was an old lady who cried all the time. Her elder daughter was married to an umbrella merchant, while the younger daughter was the wife of a noodle vendor.  On sunny days, she worried; "Oh no! The weather is so nice and sunny, no one is going to buy any umbrellas. What will happen if the shop has to be closed." These worries made her sad, as she just could not help but to cry about the plight her eldest daughter had to face.  But when it rains, she would also cry for her youngest daughter, as she thought; "Oh no! My younger daughter is married to a noodle vendor. You cannot dry noodles without the sun. Now there will be no noodles to sell. What should we do?" As a result, the old lady lived in sorrow everyday.  Whether sunny or rainy, she grieved for one of her daughters. Her neighbours couldn't console her and jokingly called her; "

  Once upon a time, there were three old friends. They were all scholars leading busy lives, but they all made it a point to meet once a year to make sure they would always stay in touch with one another. But this time, the gathering felt different. They were all getting old and starting to feel their age.  Sensing this, the first scholar remarked: "We are all here together this year, enjoying each other's company..... But who can say with certainty if we will all be able to come back and be together again next year?". The second scholar laughed: "Next year? I think you may be looking too far ahead and assuming too much. Today I am alive, but who can say with certainty if tomorrow I will open my eyes to greet another day?". They turned to the third scholar, who had been quiet. He looked up to them thoughtfully, and said: "Tomorrow? My friends, as I sit here with you, I do not know if each breath I draw will be my last. Who can say with certainty, if one bre

  Solitude The idea of being alone scares many people, as the concept of it is often perceived with a filter of negativity. And although I do agree that we human beings as social creatures require interaction in order to function properly & healthily in our daily lives, spending time away from the herd by ourselves can benefit our wellbeing immensely. So let's explore the power of solitude & see what it can truly bring to our lives.  Finding Solace, Among Us "Without great solitude, no serious work is possible".    -Pablo Picasso  In this day & age, (and quite possibly throughout the ages) our current society does not seem to like loners, as the fast-paced consumerism driven society that we live in cannot stand non-participation. People who prefer to be alone, such as introverts like myself, for some reason seem to invoke suspicion. Usually, we are ridiculed with comments such as: "He must be a crazy person" or "nobody likes him", etc.  And

Once upon a time, a samurai, who was known for his nobility & honesty, went to visit a Zen monk to seek advice. However, the moment he entered the temple where the master was praying, he felt inferior and concluded that, in spite of having fought for justice & peace all his life, he hadn't even come near the state of grace achieved by the man before him.  "Why do I feel so inferior?", he asked, as soon as the monk finished his prayers. "I have faced death many times before, and have defended those who are weak. I know I have nothing to be ashamed of. But upon seeing you meditating, I felt that my life had absolutely no importance whatsoever." "Wait. Once I have attended to all those who have come to see me today, I shall answer you", the Zen monk replied.  Accepting his reply, the samurai spent the day sitting in the temple gardens, observing the people passing him by, in search of advice. He saw how the monk received them all with the same pat