Once upon a time, there was a huge tree by the banks of Godavari. The tree was home to a flock of doves who lived together very amicably. They would fly out in different directions to collect food and would gather again in the evening for a hearty meal together. The king of the flock was a very wise one and the others in the flock would happily follow his orders.
One fine morning, the flock went about their usual search. They were looking for food when one of them called out, “Look! So much grain scattered on the ground.”
The others joined him and the flock began to hover above the grain. “It’s a lucky day!” said another bird. “We don’t have to fly around any more… we have all the grain that we would need, today, tomorrow and every day!”
Just then, the king of the doves came by and was surprised to see his flock in serious discussion.
“What is the discussion about?” he asked in a worried tone.
One of the birds pointed to the ground and rejoiced, “See…we have all the grain that can last us for many days.”
“Yes,” exclaimed another one. “We needn’t bother about food for days!”
“I see…” the king dove pondered and flew close to the ground. “So much food cannot be laid without a reason. This must be a trap set up by the hunter.”
“No way!” said the younger birds.
“Please let us go,” pleaded the older ones, “It has been days that we have fed on such fresh grain.”
The king finally yielded and the flock greedily charged at the grains. It was only a matter of a few seconds when a net was thrown over them. The flock panicked, they were worried because they could not fly, they were trapped. “Ah…help…Ooo…” they cried but to no avail.
The king dove noticed the hunter going away. He understood that he had gone to get his friends to carry all the birds. He chirped and quietened all the birds.
“Relax,” he ordered, “I told you this was a trap. Now calm down. If we all put our efforts together, we will be able to lift the net and fly with it.”
The birds were ashamed at their foolishness, they all readily agreed to their king. their wings, up…up and away…
The hunter who was returning for his catch began to fret. “Wait,” he yelled, “stop you shrewd birds…give me my net back.” And he frantically chased them until he tripped over a rock and fell on the ground.
The birds flew straight over to their friend, the rat, who nibbled at the net and freed them. The birds thanked the rat and promised their king to never fall for easy food.
Moral: Unity is strength.
#Buddha #Buddhism #Zen #Life #Lifestyle #wisdomwinds
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