PAINS AND PLEASAURES
There was a Buddhist bhikkhu, who was the son of a rich nobleman and, at one time, lived in a palace. Coming under the influence of the Buddha, he renounced his material wealth and the comforts of his palace and accepted the hardships of a mendicant’s life. He slept on the bare ground underneath the trees. He ate what he got by way of alms. He felt happy.
One day, he suffered a severe attack of rheumatic pain. At first, he treated it with indifference. Days passed by, but the pain persisted. He could not even meditate properly. He felt miserable. Gone was the joy of life. However hard he tried, he could not recapture his lost peace. His mind became agitated; he felt agitated and weary.
One morning, as he was out begging for alms, he found a little girl playing with her friends. She was a cripple; she had only one leg and hobbled on crutches. But she was happy as a lark singing on a tree. She shouted and laughed and made merry with other children. Seeing her, the bhikkhu felt ashamed of him.
“This little girl who has only one leg is bright and happy,” he said to himself; “and I, a disciple of Buddha, despair because of little pain!”
He returned, a new man. The pain no longer bothered him. He was truly free!
How true it is that attitudes are more important than facts!
