This week’s short reading carries within it a number of dharma points. Which one speaks to you?
Two traveling Zen monks reached a river where they met a beautiful young woman. Wary of the current, she asked if they could carry her across. One of the monks hesitated, but the other quickly picked her up onto his shoulders, transported her across the water, and put her down on the other bank. She thanked him and departed.
As the monks continued on their way, the one was brooding and preoccupied. Unable to hold his silence, he spoke out. “Brother, our spiritual training teaches us to avoid any contact with women, but you picked that one up on your shoulders and carried her!”
“Brother,” the second monk replied, “I set her down on the other side, while you are still carrying her.”
What a beautifully meaningful story. One monk worried and one gave. One let his mind leave the present moment, and the other helped one in need, himself and his companion by his action. Let us never attach our hearts to the “what ifs” in life, and seek opportunities to help others without fear or thought to personal gain.