THE BEST MOTIVATIONAL STORIES ONE HOUR NON STOP!!

[Music] Once Upon a Time in ancient China there lived three old monks their names are not remembered today simply because they never revealed them to anybody in China they are simply known as the three laughing monks they always traveled together and did nothing else but laugh they entered a village or a town stood in the center of its main square and started laughing slowly but surely the people who lived and worked there and the passers by couldn't resist and had to start laughing as well until a small laughing crowd had formed and event The Laughing

had spread to the whole village or town that was the moment when the three old monks moved on to the next Village their laughter was their only prayer all of their teaching because they never spoke to anybody they just created that situation all over China they were loved and respected the people had never known such spiritual teachers before or after they seemed to communicate that life should be taken only as a great opportunity to laugh as if they had discovered some kind of cosmic joke so they traveled and laughed for many years spreading joy and

happiness throughout China until one day while being at a particular Village in the north province one of them died the people were shocked and came running from afar leaving the fields unattended for the day only to witness the other two monks reaction to this dramatic event they were expecting them to show sorrow or even cry and the whole village came to the place where the three monks were two alive and one dead but the two remaining monks were laughing only harder they were laughing and laughing and could not seem to stop so that a few

of the good people who were assisting to this scene in disbelief approached them and asked them why they weren't mourning at all for their deceased friend and for one time the monks actually responded because yesterday on our way to your village he proposed a bet on who of us would beat the other two and die first and now he won the old Rogue he even had a testament prepared the tradition required to wash the dead and change his clothes before putting him on the funeral P but the old monk had explicitly asked to leave the

old clothes on him since he had never been filthy for one day I never allowed any of the filth of this world to reach me through my laughter his Testament stated so the old man's body was placed on the p with the garments he was wearing when he had arrived and as the fire was lit and started licking on his clothes to everyone's astonishment suddenly fireworks of a hundred colors went exploding up and down and to all directions and finally the people who had gathered there also joined the laughter of the two wise [Music] men

once upon a time there was a person coming to a new Village relocating and he was wondering if he would like it there so he went to a zen master and asked do you think I will like it in this Village are the people nice the master asked back how were the people in the town where you came from they were nasty and greedy they were angry and lived for cheating and stealing said the newcomer those are exactly the type of people we have in this Village said the master a day later another newcomer to

the Village visited the master and asked the same question to which the master asked how were the people in the town where you come from they were sweet and lived in harmony they cared for one another and for the land they respected each other and they were Seekers of spirit he [Music] replied well those are exactly the type of people we have in this Village said the [Music] master once upon a time there was a young man who worked at a factory his mentor an old technician taught him to talk less do more and never

stop developing his skills in every aspect of the Factory's operations 10 years later the old man retired and the young man became a technician himself he continued to do his work with the same dedication and diligence as he was taught one day he visited his mentor the old man saw that he seemed unhappy and asked what was troubling him the young man sighed and poured his heart out I have been following your instructions exactly all these years no matter what I work on I keep quiet and focus on the job I know I have done

good work at the factory and I have learned all the skills that can be learned there what I don't understand is that the guys who don't have my experience or capabilities have all been promoted while I am still making as little as I did before when I was your Apprentice the old man asked are you positive that you have become indispensable to the factory the young man nodded yes the old man paced back and forth to think after a while he turned to the young man you must request the day off using whatever reason you

like it is time for you to give yourself a break the young man was surprised by this advice but the more he thought about it the more it made sense he thanked his teacher and left quickly to make a time off request when he returned to work after his day off the manager called him into the office to tell him that things did not go well at the factory while he was gone others encountered many problems that normally would be handled by him and they had no idea how to solve them realizing his importance the

manager decided to promote him to the position of senior technician to thank him and encourage him to keep up the good work the young man was grateful for his mentor's wisdom surely he thought this was the secret to success from that point on whenever the the young man felt like he deserved more than what he was getting he would take a day off when he came back the next day the situation would improve to his satisfaction this pattern continued for months one day the young man found that he was blocked from going into the factory

much to his shock he found out that his employment was terminated he could not believe it not knowing what else to do he went back to see his mentor to try to figure out how things had gone so wrong why did I lose my job he asked with Wounded Pride did I not do everything as you instructed actually you did not because you heard only half the lesson the old man shook his head you understood right away that no one pays any attention to a light bulb that is always on it is only when it

goes off that people suddenly take notice and realize they've been taking it for granted you were so eager to apply this understanding that you left before hearing the second half second half it began to Dawn on the young man that perhaps he made a big mistake what was the second half the mentor spoke slowly to make his point the second half more important than the first is the realization that if a light bulb goes off frequently then sooner or later it will be replaced with one that is more reliable who wants a light bulb that

no one can count on to provide [Music] illumination a story by Suzuki roshi once upon a time a professor went to his in Master he asked him to explain the meaning of Zen the master quietly poured a cup of tea the cup was full but he continued to pour the professor could not stand this any longer so he questioned the master impatiently why do you keep pouring when the cup is full I want to point out to you the master said that you are similarly attempting to understand Zen while your mind is full first empty

your mind of preconceptions before you attempt to understand Zen if your mind is empty it is always ready for anything it is open to everything in The Beginner's mind there are many possibilities in the expert's mind there are [Music] few once upon a time there was a young athletic boy hungry for success for whom winning was everything and success was measured just by winning one day the boy was preparing himself for a running competition in his small village himself and two other young boys to compete a large crowd had gathered to witness the sporting spectacle

and a wise old old man upon hearing of the little boy had traveled far to Bear witness also the race commenced looking like a level Heat at the finishing line but sure enough the boy dug deep and called on his determination strength and power he took the winning line and was first the crowd was ecstatic and cheered and waved at the boy the wise man remained still and calm expressing no sentiment the little boy however felt proud and important a second race was called and two new Young fit Challengers came forward to run with a

little boy the race was started and sure enough the little boy came through and finished first once again the crowd was ecstatic again and cheered and waved at the boy the wise man mind still and calm again expressing no sentiment the little boy however felt proud and important another race another race pleaded the little boy the wise old man stepped forward and presented the little boy with two new Challengers an elderly frail lady and a blind man what is this quizzed the little boy this is no race he exclaimed race said the wise man the

race was started and the boy was the only finisher the other two Challengers left standing at the starting line the little boy was ecstatic he raised his arms in Delight the crowd however were silent showing no sentiment toward the little boy what has happened why not do the people join in My Success he asked the wise old man race again replied the wise man this time finish together all three of you finish together continued the wise man the little boy thought a little stood in the middle of the blind man and the frail old lady

and then took the two Challengers by the hand the race began and the little boy walked slowly ever so slowly to the Finishing Line and crossed it the crowd were ecstatic and cheered and waved at the boy the wise man smiled gently nodding his head the little boy felt proud and important old man I understand not who are the crowd cheering for which one of us three asked the little boy the wise old man looked into the little boy's eyes placing his hands on the boy's shoulders and replied softly little little boy for this race

you have won much more than in any race you have ever ran before and for this race the crowd cheer not for any [Music] winner one day a son goes to his father and says father what is the value of my life the father gives him Stone says son if you want to know the value of your life take the stone and go to the market and if anyone asks the price don't say a word and raise up two fingers so the boy does as his father says and goes to the market he wanders around

and suddenly an old woman approaches him and says how much is this Stone the boy doesn't say a word just raises up two fingers and the woman says $2 I'll take it the son is surprised and runs back to his father says father there was an old woman at the market she wanted to give me $2 for the stone the father says son the next place I want you to go is to the museum and if anyone asks the price don't say a word and raise up two fingers so the sun takes his Stone and

goes to the museum after about 20 minutes there is a middle-aged man in a suit who approaches the boy he says uh sir how how much is this Stone the boy doesn't say a word and raises up two fingers and the man says $200 I'll take it the boy surprised and runs home to his father father father a man in the museum wanted to buy the stone for $200 okay son the last place I want you to take the stone is a precious stone store walk inside with a stone and if anyone asks the price

don't say a word just raise up two fingers so the sun runs off into the precious stone store after finding it he walks inside and there is an old man at the counter and as the old man sees the stone he jumps up and screams oh my God you have the stone I've been looking for my whole life what do you want for it how much is it the boy doesn't say a word and raises up two fingers the old man says $200,000 I'll take it the boy can't believe it he jumps up and runs

to his father says father father the old man at the precious stone store wanted to give me $200,000 for the stone you see son do you understand now the value of your life life is all about where you place yourself you can decide if you want to be a $2 stone or a $200,000 Stone there are some people who love you and for whom you're everything and some people will just use you as a commodity and for them you will be worth nothing so it is upon you my son to decide the value of your

[Music] life one day while the Buddha was preaching his Doctrine for the conversion of the world in the neighborhood of savati a man of great wealth who suffered for many ailments came to him with clasped hands and said oh Lord Buddha pardon me for my want of respect and not saluting you as I ought to but I suffer greatly from obesity excessive drowsiness and other complaints so that I cannot move without pain the tagata seeing the luxuries with which the man was surrounded asked him have you a desire to know the cause of your ailments

and when the wealthy man expressed his willingness to learn Buddha said there are five things which produce the condition of which you complain opulent dinners love of sleep hankering after pleasure thoughtlessness and lack of occupation exercise self-control at your meals and take on yourself some duties that will exercise your abilities and make you useful to your fellow men in following this advice you will prolong your life the rich man remembered the words of the Buddha and after some time having recovered his lightness and youthfulness he returned to the world honored one and coming this time

without horses and luxuries he said to him Master you have cured my bodily ailments I come now to seek Enlightenment of the mind and Buddha said the worldling nourishes his body but the wise man nourishes his mind he who indulges in the satisfaction of his appetite works his own destruction but He Who Walks In The Path will have both the Salvation from Evil and the prolongation of [Music] life once upon a time there was a very lazy man in a village he would keep trying to get food without doing any hard work one morning while

wandering around the countryside he decided to steal some apples to eat as soon as he tried to pick an apple a farmer saw him and started coming at him the lazy man got scared and ran into the forest nearby to hide while walking through the forest he saw an old wolf wolf with only two legs the man wondered how that wolf was surviving with only two legs the wolf could not run or feed himself and there were threats from other animals but he was happily crawling around suddenly he saw a lion coming towards the wolf

with a piece of meat in its mouth the lazy man climbed up the tree to save himself but the wolf stayed because because he could not run away but the Man's eyes were on stalks as he saw the lion left the piece of meat for the wolf to [Music] eat the lazy man felt happy seeing God's play he started to think that God always as a plan set to take care of his Creations then he believed that God must have something planned for him too so he left to find a place to sit and wait

for someone to feed him he waited he waited he waited there for 2 days without any food finally he couldn't bear the hunger and left he met an old sage on the way he told everything to the sage and asked oh wise one God showed Mercy to the crippled wolf but why didn't he show Mercy to me the old sage answered it's true that that God has a plan for everyone you are obviously a part of his plan but son you took his signs in a wrong way he didn't want you to be Like the

Wolf he wanted you to be like the [Music] lion hi this is there too motivation and this is a story about letting go once upon a time two Buddhist monks were on a journey one of them was a senior Monk and the other was a junior Monk and during their Journey they approached a raging River and on the River Bank stood a young lady she was clearly concerned about how she would get to the other side of the river without drowning the junior monk walked straight past her without giving it a thought and he crossed

the river the senior monk however picked up the woman and carried her across the river he placed her down they parted ways and on they went with the journey as the journey went on the senior monk could see some concern on the junior Monk's mind he asked what was wrong and the junior monk replied how could you carry her like that you know we can't touch women it's against our way of life and the senior monk answered I left the woman at the River's Edge a long way back why are you still carrying her the

senior monk had broken rules but for good reason once the purpose was fulfilled he put her down and continued on he never gave it a further thought the junior monk however he didn't touch the woman but he had brought up the actions of the senior monk when it was an action of the past therefore the junior monk was carrying the burden of what the senior monk had done as an emotional baggage one day Buddha was in an assembly when a man walked in looking Furious he thought Buddha was doing something wrong he was drawing a

huge crowd and people would just go to him and meditate he was a Restless businessman and he had found that his children were spending their time with Buddha when they could have engaged the eles in business making more money and ensuring their livelihood he fell to that spending 4 hours of their day seated next to someone whose eyes were always closed was a complete waste of time so the father of the family was very upset and he said I am going to teach this man a lesson with anger in his heart he walked confidently up

to Buddha as soon as he approached Buddha all of his thoughts disappeared but the anger in him did not dissipate he was shaking and he found himself speechless since he was unable to express his emotions in words he simply spat on Buddha's face Buddha in return simply smiled his disciples who were sitting with him were Furious they wanted to react and were ready to jump but the Buddha's presence didn't allow them to do so they just couldn't believe someone could behave in such a reprehensible manner with the Buddha but they couldn't say anything and this

man could not stay longer either he noticed his action had not drawn any reaction from the people around him and the Buddha had simply smiled in return a few minutes later he thought if I stay longer I will burst I will explode so he walked away once he returned home he couldn't erase the image of the smiling Buddha from his mind for the first time in his life he had met someone who had such an extraordinary reaction to such a disrespectful act he could not sleep all night and his whole body underwent a transformation he

was shivering shaking he felt as though his world had collapsed so the next day he got up and went and fell at Buddha's feet and said please forgive me I did not know what I was doing to which Buddha replied I cannot excuse you everyone including Buddha's disciples were shocked at this reaction all his life life Buddha had been so compassionate he had accepted everyone in his asham regardless of their past and now he was telling this businessman that he could not excuse his behavior Buddha looked around and found everyone to be in a State

of Shock so he explained why should I excuse you when you have not done anything what wrong have you done that I should excuse your behavior the businessman replied yesterday I came to this assembly and in my anger I spat on your face I am the same person it is me Buddha said that person is not here anymore if I ever meet the person on whom you sp I'll tell him to excuse you for me to the person who's right here in this moment you are wonderful you have done nothing wrong once upon a time

a disciple asked his master how can I calm my mind the master said I am too busy to talk to you right now why not consult your first dhma brother he did as he was told and asked the same question the first Dharma brother said I have a headache I can't talk now why why not talk to the second Dharma brother but the second Dharma brother said I have a stomach ache why don't you just go and talk to our Dharma master so he went back to his master and complained nobody told me anything nobody

gave me any answers but the master said to him reprovingly you really are a stupid fool everybody has been giving you the answer because of this the disciple reached [Music] Enlightenment in ancient times a king had his men place a huge rock on a roadway he then hid in the bushes and watched to see if anyone would move the rock out of the way some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courter passed by and simply walked around it many blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear but none of them did anything about getting

the stone removed and so it happened that one day a peasant came along carrying vegetables upon approaching the Rock The Peasant laid down his burden and tried to push the rock out of the way after much pushing and straining he finally managed after the peasant went back to pick up his vegetables he noticed a purse lying in the road where the rock had been the purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King explaining that the gold was for the person who removed the Rock from the road there were two [Music] frogs these

frogs were best friends like brothers one was fat the other one was thin but they got along well nevertheless always looking for trouble and Adventure they were hopping around the countryside when suddenly they saw a farmer leave a bucket in front of a stable curious as those two were they went over to see what was in the bucket because the bucket was too big they couldn't see what was inside and so they just jumped [Music] in the bucket was filled with milk but they couldn't get out as the sides were too slippery so they were

just swimming around they swam and they swam but still couldn't get out after 1 hour the fat frog said to his thin friend frog brother frog there's no use paddling any longer we are just going to drown we will die it is unevitable so we might as well well give up there is no point no one will come and save us nor will we turn into butterflies and fly away we are doomed but his friend replied hold on brother fat frog keep paddling somebody will get us out eventually as long as we don't give up

we won't drown and we can't die and so they continued paddling for hours as the sun started to go down the fat frog said I can't go on any longer there is no sense in doing it because we are going to drown anyway what's the use I have given up already and the fat frog stopped swimming he gave up and he drown found in the milk and he died the skinny frog was devastated that he had lost his best friend since Pond days and couldn't hold back his tears but more determined than ever he started

paddling even faster and faster to numb the pain Suddenly at around midnight he noticed that he had turned the milk into to butter because he had been paddling for so long and so he was able to jump out of the bucket he let out a joyous yell and jumped back into the woods he was alive he had made it but he was also sad because he lost his best friend he knew that he hadn't been able to help his fat friend because once his friend had made the decision to give up he was doomed you

see we never lose as long as we don't give up years later he married a frog lady and had lots of frog Sons he named them all after his fat frog friend to keep his memory alive and because he missed him so dearly and every night he would tell his frog children the story of the fat Frog who gave up so that they would never give up in life see life is hard but you have to be harder and smart always be grateful for what you have and never give up because as long as you

don't give up you can't lose one day a countryman knocked hard on a monastery door when the monk tending the gates opened up he was given a magnificent bunch of grapes brother these are the finest my Vineyard has produced I've come to Bear them as a gift thank you I will take them to the Abbotts immediately he'll be delighted with this offering no I brought them for you for me the monk blushed for he didn't think he deserved such a fine gift of nature yes yes insisted the man for whenever I knock on the door

it is you who opens it when I needed help because the crop was destroyed by drought you gave me a piece of bread and a cup of wine every day I hope this bunch of grapes will bring you a little of the sun's love the rain's Beauty and the miracle of God for it is he who made it grow so fine the monk held the grapes and spent the entire morning admiring them they were really beautiful because of this he decided to deliver the gift to the Abbot who had always encouraged him with words of

wisdom the Abbot was very pleased with the grapes but he recalled that there was a sick brother in the monastery and thought I'll give the grapes to him who knows they may bring some joy to his life and that is what he did but the grapes didn't stay in the sick Monk's room for long for he reflected the cook has looked after me for so long feeding me only the best meals I'm sure he will enjoy these when the cook appeared at lunch to bring him his meal he presented him with the grapes they are

for you said the sick monk since you are always coming into contact with that which nature produces you will know exactly what to do with this work of God the cook was amazed at the beauty of the grapes and showed his assistant how perfect they were so perfect he thought to himself that no one would appreciate them more than the monastery priest since he was responsible for the holy sacrament and many at the monastery considered him a holy man he would be best qualified to Value this Marvel of nature the monaster priest in turn gave

the grapes as a gift to the youngest novice that he might understand that the work of God is in the smallest details of creation when the novice received them his heart was filled with the glory of the Lord for he had never seen such beautiful grapes just then he remembered the first time he came to the monastery and of the person who had opened the gates for him it was that gesture which allowed him to be among his community of people who knew how to Value the wonders of life and so just before nightfall he

took the grapes to the monk at the gates eat and enjoy them he said for you spend most of your time alone here and these grapes will make you very happy 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 live so they arrived at a farm of a very poor family as he considered they spent there several days on their return the father asked the son son if he liked the

trip oh it was great father the boy replied did you notice how poor people live yes I did said the boy the father asked his son to tell in more details about his Impressions from their trip well we have only one dog and they have four of them in our garden there is a pool while they have a river that has no end we've got expensive lanterns but they have the stars above their heads at night we have the balcony and they have the whole Horizon we have only a small piece of land while they

have the endless fields we buy food but they grow it we have a high fence for protection of our property and they don't need it as their friends protect them the father was stunned he couldn't say a word then the boy added thank you Father for letting me see how poor We Are One Day Buddha was walking from one town to another with a few of his followers this was in the initial days while they were traveling they happened to pass a lake they stopped there and Buddha told one of his disciples I am thirsty

please get me some water from the that Lake over there the disciple walked up to the lake when he reached it he noticed that some people were washing clothes in the water and right at that moment a bullk cart started crossing the lake right at the edge of it as a result the water became very muddy very turbid the disciple thought how can I give this muddy water to Buddha to drink so he came back and told the Buddha the water in there is very much I don't think it is fit to drink so the

Buddha said let us take a little rest here by the tree after about half an hour again Buddha asked the same disciple to go back to the lake and get him some water to drink the disciple obediently went back to the lake this time he found that the lake had absolutely clear water in it the mud had settled down and the water above it looked fit to be had so he collected some water in a pot and brought it to the Buddha the Buddha looked at the water and then he looked up at the disciple

and said see you let the water be and the mud settled down on its own you got Clear Water it didn't require any effort once upon a time there lived a very wise man he was the mayor of a local Village everyone respected him and his views and opinions were well regarded many people came to him seeking for advice his son however was very lazy and wasted his time sleeping and spending time with his friends no amount of advice or threat made any difference to him he would not change at all the years passed and

with time faded the Youth of the wise man as he Grew Older he began to worry about his son's future he recognized that he had to give his son something so that he could take care of himself and his family to be in the future so one day the wise man called his son to his room and said my son you are no more a kid now you must learn to take responsibilities and understand life I want you to find the real purpose of your life and once you find it remember it always and you

will lead a life full of happiness and joy forever he then handed his son a bag when the son opened the bag he was surprised to see four pair of clothes one for each season there also were some raw foods grains lentils little money and a map his father continued I want you to go find a treasure I have drawn a map of the place where the treasure is hidden you need to go and find it the son loved this idea for the first time he thought that his father had a good idea for him

so the next day he eagerly set out on a journey to find the treasure he had to travel really far across borders forests plateaus and mountains days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months along the way he met a lot of people he was helped by some with food and by some with shelter he also came across robbers who tried to Rob him and people who tried to cheat him he experienced the best and the worst of Humanity on his way slowly the season changed and so did the Landscapes along with it when the

weather was unpleasant he halted for the day and continued his journey when the weather cleared finally after a long year he reached his destination it was a cliff the map showed the treasure being placed below the cliff under the tree upon spotting the tree he began to dig the ground he searched and searched around it under it over it but found nothing he spent two days looking and digging for the Treasure by the third day he was so exhausted that he decided to leave disappointed over his father's lie he headed back to his home on

his way back he experienced the same changing Landscapes and Seasons this time however he halted to to enjoy the blooming flowers in Spring and the dancing birds in Monsoon he stayed in places only to watch the sunset in Paradise or to enjoy Pleasant summer evenings since the supplies he carried were over by then he learned to hunt and make arrangements for his meals he also learned how to sew his clothes and shelter himself he was now able to determine the hour of the day by the position of the sun and plan his journey according accordingly

he also learned how to protect himself from wild animals he met the same people who had helped him earlier this time he stayed a few days with them and helped them in some or the other way to repay them he realized how nice they were to an ordinary passerby who had nothing to offer to them in return when he reached home he realized it had been 2 years since he left the place he walked straight into his father's room father he said the father immediately jumped to his feet and hugged his son so how was

your journey my son did you find the treasure he asked the journey was fascinating father but forgive me for I wasn't able to find the treasure maybe somebody took it before I reached he surprised himself by what he just said he wasn't angry at his father instead he was asking for forgiveness there wasn't any treasure in the first place my son the father answered smiling but why did you send me to find it then the son [Music] asked I will surely tell you why but first you tell me how was your journey to the place

did you enjoy it of course not father I had no time I was worried someone else would find the treasure before I did I was in a sorry to reach the cliff but I did enjoy the journey on my way back home I made many friends and witnessed Miracles every day I learned so many different skills and the Art of survival there was so much I learned that it made me forget the pain of not finding the treasure exactly my son I want you to lead your life with a goal but if you remain too

focused on the goal then you will miss out the real Treasures of Life once once upon a time a country was ruled by a king who had no son to succeed to the throne since the King was getting old he wanted to select a suitable successor to rule the country the king sent out notices throughout his country the notices invited every qualified young man in the country for an interview with the king the outcome of the interview would decide a possible successor to the throne the only qualification for the candidate was that they should have

immense love for their fellow human beings every young man across the country was very excited at the possibility of being the ruler of the country a poor young man from a remote Village also read the notice and started to prepare for an interview with the king the man was a kind man a hardworking man but he was very poor due to various circumstances the man had no good clothes to be presentable in the sight of the king so the young man worked really hard and saved some money to buy him proper clothes and supplies to

support him for the long journey to the Palace after he got his supplies and a proper attire for the interview the young man set out on his quest he traveled many days and had almost completed the journey when he came upon a poor beggar by the side of the road the poor beggar sat trembling in the cold covered only in tattered drags the beggar extended his arms and pleaded for help his weak voice croaked I am hungry and cold please help me sir the young man was so moved by the pathetic condition of the beggar

that he immediately stripped his new attire and offered it to him he also provided Ed him with his very limited food he had carried for the journey the beggar thanked the man a thousand times but since the man had given up his good clothes to the beggar he was a bit hesitant to go for the interview he however gathered enough courage to enter the palace in his old to dirty clothes upon his arrival at the palace a king's attendant showed him the way to the Great Hall after a short rest to clean off the Journey's

grime the man was admitted to the throne room for the interview the young man bowed low as the king entered the room when he raised his eyes he gasped in astonishment as he noticed that the king looked very similar to the beggar he had met on the way the king saw the shock in the man's eye and said yes I was the beggar you met on your way but why did you dress up like a beggar you are a king [Music] well why did you do this to me the young man stammered after gaining some

composure because I had to be sure that you had a good heart and you genuinely love your fellow human beings said the king I knew that if I came to you as a king you would have done anything to impress me but that way I would never have known what is truly in your heart the generosity and love to the one in need without expecting anything in return is the sign of a great heart looking at your love generosity towards the BAM man proved that you sincerely love your fellow human beings this country needs a

leader who would work for the welfare of all of the nation not just the ones who would offer and cater to the [Music] throne you have proven that you are the right person to be my successor promised the king when the Buddha had remained as long as he wished at ambapali Grove he went to belua near Vali there the blessed one addressed the Brethren and said micans take up your Abode for the rainy season round about Vali each one according to the place where his friends and near companions may live I shall enter on the

rainy season here at belova when Buddha had thus entered on the rainy season there fell on him a dire sickness and sharp pains came on him even to death but the blessed one Mindful and self-possessed bore his ailments without complaint then this thought occurred to the Buddha it would not be right for me to pass away from life without addressing the disciples without taking leave of the order Let Me Now by a strong effort of the will subdue this sickness and keep my hold on life until my time has come and Buddha by a strong

effort of the will subdued the sickness and kept his hold on life until his time should come and the sick n abated thus Buddha began to recover and when he had quite got rid of the sickness he went out from the monastery and sat down on a seat spread out in the open air and his beloved Ananda accompanied by many other disciples approached where the blessed one was saluted him and taking a seat respectfully on one side said I have beheld Lord how the blessed one was in health and I have beheld how the blessed

one had to suffer and though at the sight of the sickness of the blessed one my body became weak as a creeper and the Horizon became dim to me and my faculties were no longer clear yet non withstanding I took some little comfort from the thought that the blessed one would not pass away from existence till at last he had left instructions as touching the order Buddha addressed Ananda in behalf of the order said saying what then Ananda does the order expect of me I have preached the truth without making any distinction between Doctrine hidden

or revealed for in respect of the truth Ananda the tagata has no such thing as the closed fist of a teacher who keeps some things back surely Ananda should there be anyone who Harbor the thought it is I who will lead the Brotherhood or the order is dependent on me he should lay down instructions in any matter concerning the order now the tagata Ananda thinks not that it is he who should lead the Brotherhood or that the order is dependent on him why then should the tagata leave instructions in any matter concerning the [Music] order

I am now grown old Ananda and full of years my journey is drawing to its close I have reached the sum of my days I am turning 80 years of age just as a worn out cart cannot be made to move along without much difficulty so the body of the tatata can only be kept going with much additional care it is only when the tagata Ananda seizing to attend to any outward thing becomes plunged in that devout meditation of heart which is concerned with no bodily object it is only then that the body of the

tagata is at ease therefore Ananda be you lamps to yourselves rely on yourselves and do not rely on external help hold fast to the truth as a lamp seek salvation alone in the truth look not for assistance to anyone besides yourselves and how Ananda can a brother be a lamp to himself rely on himself only and not on any external help holding fast to the truth as his lamp and seeking salvation in the truth alone looking not for assistance to anyone besides himself herein Ananda let a brother as he dwells in the body so regard

the body that he being strenuous thoughtful and mindful May while in the world overcome the grief which arises from the body's Cravings while subject to Sensations let him continue so to regard the sensations that he being strenuous thoughtful and mindful May while in the world overcome the grief which arises from the sensations and so also when he thinks or reasons or feels let him so regard his thoughts that being strenuous thoughtful and mindful he may while in the world overcome the grief which arises from the craving due to ideas or to reasoning or to feeling

those who either now or after I am dead shall be lamps to themselves relying on themselves only and not relying on any external help but holding fast to the truth as their lamp and seeking their salvation in the truth alone and shall not look for assistance to anyone besid besides themselves it is they Ananda among my BOS who shall reach the very topmost height but they must be anxious to learn