Zen Stories --- Chasing two Rabbits -- Teacher Student Story
Banishing a Ghost Bell Teacher Books Christian Buddha Chasing Two Rabbits Cliffhanger Concentration Destiny Dreaming Egotism Empty Your Cup Enlightened Full Awareness Gift of Insults Going with the Flow Gutei's Finger Holy Man I Don't Know Is That So? It Will Pass Just Two Words Knowing Fish Learning the Hard Way Masterpiece Maybe The Moon Cannot Be Stolen More Is Not Enough Most Important Teaching Moving Mind The Nature of Things Nature's Beauty No More Questions Not Dead Yet Obsessed Paradise Practice Makes Perfect Present Moment Prosperity Ritual Cat Searching for Buddha Self-Control Sounds of Silence Spider Successor Surprising the Master Tea Combat Tea or Iron Transient True Self Useless Life Wanting God When Tired Without Fear Working Very Hard
More is not enough - Stories for Kids : Zen Stories
Zen Master Stories 101 - These are short inspirational stories based on buddhism beliefs. Buddhist teachings are way of life.
Banishing a Ghost Bell Teacher Books Christian Buddha Chasing Two Rabbits Cliffhanger Concentration Destiny Dreaming Egotism Empty Your Cup Enlightened Full Awareness Gift of Insults Going with the Flow Gutei's Finger Holy Man I Don't Know Is That So? It Will Pass Just Two Words Knowing Fish Learning the Hard Way Masterpiece Maybe The Moon Cannot Be Stolen More Is Not Enough Most Important Teaching Moving Mind The Nature of Things Nature's Beauty No More Questions Not Dead Yet Obsessed Paradise Practice Makes Perfect Present Moment Prosperity Ritual Cat Searching for Buddha Self-Control Sounds of Silence Spider Successor Surprising the Master Tea Combat Tea or Iron Transient True Self Useless Life Wanting God When Tired Without Fear Working Very Hard

More Is Not Enough


There was once a stone cutter who was dissatisfied with himself and with his position in life.
One day he passed a wealthy merchant's house. Through the open gateway, he saw many fine possessions and important visitors. "How powerful that merchant must be!" thought the stone cutter. He became very envious and1 wished that he could be like the merchant.

To his great surprise, he suddenly became the merchant, enjoying more luxuries and power than he had ever imagined, but envied and detested by those less wealthy than himself. Soon a high official passed by, carried in a sedan chair, accompanied by attendants and escorted by soldiers beating
gongs. Everyone, no matter how wealthy, had to bow low before the procession. "How powerful that official is!" he thought. "I wish that I could be a high official!"

Then he became the high official, carried everywhere in his embroidered sedan chair, feared and hated by the people all around. It was a hot summer day, so the official felt very uncomfortable in the sticky sedan chair. He looked up at the sun. It shone proudly in the sky, unaffected by his presence.

"How powerful the sun is!" he thought. "I wish that I could be the sun!" Then he became the sun, shining fiercely down on everyone, scorching the fields, cursed by the farmers and laborers. But a huge black cloud moved between him and the earth, so that his light could no longer shine on everything below. "How powerful that storm cloud is!" he thought. "I wish that I could be a cloud!" Then he became the cloud, flooding the fields and villages, shouted at by everyone. But soon he found that he was being pushed away by some great force, and realized that it was the wind. "How powerful it is!" he thought. "I wish that I could be the wind!"

Then he became the wind, blowing tiles off the roofs of houses, uprooting trees, feared and hated by all below him. But after a while, he ran up against something that would not move, no matter how forcefully he blew against it - a huge, towering rock. "How powerful that rock is!" he thought. "I wish that I could be a rock!"

Then he became the rock, more powerful than anything else on earth. But as he stood there, he heard the sound of a hammer pounding a chisel into the hard surface, and felt himself being changed. "What could be more powerful than I, the rock?" he thought.

He looked down and saw far below him the figure of a stone cutter.