A MONARCH OF LONG AGO had twin sons. There was some confusion about
which one was born first. As they grew to young manhood, the king sought
a fair way to designate one of them as crown prince. All who knew the young
men thought them equal in intelligence, wit, personal
Calling them to his council chamber one day, he said, "My sons, the
day will come when one of
In a spirit of friendly competition, the brothers set out together.
Soon they overtook an aged
The objector hurried on while the other stayed behind to give aid to
the aged woman. Along the
Eventually he did reach his father's advisor, where he secured his own
burden and started home
The future king replied thoughtfully, "I suppose when I helped others
carry their burdens,
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Chuang-tzu Ancient Chinese Philosophers 300 B.C. In the Northern Deep there is a great fish, thousands of miles long.
Energy is movement, particulate matter, the breathing of living beings
in concert :
Now if water has not accumulated to sufficient depth,
If the air layer is not thick enough, it does not have the power
The locust and the pigeon ridicule the giant bird, saying,
Those go into the bush come back after three meals with their bellies
still full.
How do we know this is so?
North of the desert there is a deep ocean, the Pond of Heaven.
So those whose knowledge is effective enough for one office,
Thus the philosopher Jung of Sung laughed at them in derision;
Master Lieh rode on the wind, with serene expertise, returning after
fifteen days.
Notes The giant fish symbolizes the hidden potential for higher development;
The locust, pigeon, and marsh quail represent pedestrian minds clinging
The philosopher Jung of Sung represents partial transcendence : the
ability to
Master lieh represents the stage of transcendence of worldly things
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An initiation into the Heart of Taoism through the authentic Tao Te Ching and the Inner Teachings of Chuang-tzu Translated and Presented by Thomas Cleary Harper Collins Publishers 1991 |
An Islamic Legend Retold by Aaron Shepard Version 2.2 In the days of mighty King Nimrod, there lived in Mesopotamia a young
man named Abraham.
Azar would send Abraham and his other sons to sell his idols in the
marketplace. But Abraham
Then Abraham would mock the gods of wood. He would take them to the
river, push their faces
At last Abraham said to his father, "How can you worship what doesn't
see or hear or do you
Azar replied, "Dare you deny the gods of our people? Get out of my sight!" "May God forgive you," said Abraham. "No more will I live with you and
your idols." And he
Now, the time came for one of the festivals of that town. The people
gathered in their temple and
Abraham walked among them, saying, "What are you worshiping? Do these
idols hear when you
But their only reply was, "It is the way of our forefathers." "I am sick of your gods!" declared Abraham. "Truly I am their enemy." When the people had gone out, Abraham took some of the food and held
it up to the idols. "Why
Then Abraham took an ax and chopped the idols to pieces -- all except
the largest idol, the chief
When the people returned, they were shocked to find their gods broken
up and scattered about
"Abraham," said the head man,
"Surely it was someone!" he replied.
The head man said,
"Then why worship gods that you make?" demanded Abraham.
But few of the people would listen. Abraham was seized and brought to
King Nimrod for
When Nimrod had heard the accusers, he turned to Abraham.
"He it is Who gives life and death,"
"But I too give life and death,"
"That is not the way of my Lord,"
Then Nimrod grew angry. He had a great fire built, and he ordered Abraham
to be tied up and
After that, Nimrod did not dare try to harm Abraham again. Abraham returned
to his town,
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An Islamic Legend Retold by Aaron Shepard Version 3.3 "The sons of Makhzum should raise the Black Stone,"
"Who gave you such a position?"
"Not while the sons of Abdu Manaf stand here," said another. "The honor should be ours." "Then you will have to fight for it,"
In the years before Muhammad's holy mission, it happened that the tribes
around Mecca decided
Each tribe had chosen a section of the wall and started pulling down
the stones. The sacred
At last they had gotten down to the foundation laid by Abraham. They
had begun to rebuild, and
The dispute grew fiercer and fiercer, till it seemed likely that blood
would flow. But then Abu Amayya said,
All agreed and settled down to wait. And it happened that the first
man to enter the gate was
When Muhammad had listened to their claims, he considered for a moment.
Then he said,
They brought one, and Muhammad spread it on the ground. Then he took
the Black Stone and
"Each tribe will choose a man to hold the cloak by its edge. Then all
will raise the stone
This was done, and Muhammad himself set the stone in place. Then all
the tribes were satisfied,
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A Tale of Norway Retold by Aaron Shepard Version 2.2 One day, Jesus and St. Peter were walking through a village, when they
came to a blacksmith
Peter gave Jesus a nudge. "Lord, look at that." Jesus looked above the door and saw a sign saying, "Master of Masters." "Hmm," said Jesus. "Let's look into this." Inside, the blacksmith was at his forge, pounding on a horseshoe. "I saw the sign over your door," said Jesus.
"Can't you read?" said the smith.
"That's quite a coincidence," said Jesus.
"Then they'd better stop," said the smith. "I'm the greatest blacksmith
that ever lived. That makes
Just then, a man came in, saying, "Blacksmith, my horse is outside. Will you shoe it for me?" "Certainly," said the smith. "Come back for it in an hour." When the man had left, Jesus asked, "Mind if I try my hand at it?" The smith looked him up and down. "I guess you can't do so much harm that I can't put it right." Now, usually, to shoe a horse, you pull the shoe off the horse's hoof,
heat the shoe in the fire,
He took hold of one of the horse's legs and gave a little tug. Pop!
The leg came right off. He
"Never saw that trick before," said the smith. "Mind if I try it?" "Be my guest," said Jesus. The smith took hold of another leg and tugged and tugged. But all he
got for his trouble was a
"Watch me again," said Jesus. He took hold of the leg -- pop! -- pulled
it off, brought it inside to
"I have to admit, I'm impressed," said the smith. "That's nothing," said Jesus. "Watch this." A man with a hunchback was passing by. Jesus said, "Sir, let me relieve you of that burden." "Are you mocking me?" asked the man angrily. "Not at all," said Jesus. "Please come into the shop." Jesus brought the man inside, picked him up, and stuck his hump in the
fire. Then he laid him on
Jesus set him down. The man cried, "Hallelujah!", jumped six feet in
the air, and raced on down
"Never saw that trick, either," said the smith. "Mind if I try that one, too?" "I wouldn't, if I were you," said Jesus. "It's tougher than it looks." "I imagine you're right," said the smith. He went straight outside and
took down his sign. And he
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