http://www.endlesshumanpotential.com/buddhist-monk-story.html
Two Buddhist Monks were on a journey, one was
a senior monk, the other a junior. 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 picked up the woman and carried her
across the river. He placed her down, they parted
ways with the woman 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. 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". The senior
monk answered, "I left the woman at the river's
edge a long way back, why are you still carrying her?"
The moral of that buddhist monk story: 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 did
not 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 emotional baggage.
We have little use for the past except for the purpose of
learning from our experiences, good and bad. Just like in
the Buddhist monk story, we need to let go of any burden
the past may place on us. It's happened, it's over, it
cannot be changed, we can only move forward and create a
compelling future.
~ ~ ~
- Michaela
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