THE CUP OF LIFE
As
the disciple was about to sip his tea, he noticed a fly in his cup.
The
Master saw the disciple grimace……. He leaned forward with sympathy and
consternation and asked “What’s the matter?”
“Oh, nothing.” The disciple said. “It’s
nothing – just a fly in my tea.” The disciple managed a little smile to project
acceptance and composure.
“Oh, oh, a fly in the tea,” the Master said
in a low tone.
“It’s no problem.” The disciple reiterated,
smiling reassuringly at the Master. But the Master, with all his concern rose
from his chair, leaned over and dipped his finger into the tea. With great
care, he lifted out the offending fly and then left the room.
A
while later, the Master returned, beaming. “He’s going to be all right,” he
said softly. He explained how he had placed the fly on the leaf of a bush so
his wings could dry. “He’s still alive and has started flapping his wings… we
can confidently expect him to take flight soon…”
Then the Master turned towards his disciple
and said, “It wasn’t a question of the tea, but the life of the fly. You can
always make another cup of tea, but the fly wouldn’t have got another moment to
live……… if we hadn’t acted in time.”
To the disciple stunned at the Master’s
compassion, the Master said, “Use things and love life… don’t love things and
abuse life.”
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