The Lost Son
“A young widower, who loved his five year old son very much, was away on business when bandits came who burned down the whole village and took his son away. When the man returned, he saw the ruins and panicked. The took the burnt corpse of an infant to be his son and cried uncontrollably. He organised a cremation ceremony, collected the ashes and put them in a beautiful little bag which he always kept with him.
Soon afterwards, his real son escaped from the bandits and found his way home. He arrived at his father’s new cottage at midnight and knocked at the door. The father, still grieving asked: “Who is it?” The child answered, it is me papa, open the door!” But in his agitated state of mind, convinced his son was dead, the father thought that some young boy was making fun of him. He shouted: “Go away,” and continued to cry. After some time, the child left. Father and son never saw each other again.”
After this story, the Buddha said: “Sometime, somewhere, you take something to be the truth. If you cling to it so much, even when the truth comes in person and knocks on your door, you will not open it.”
Moral Lesson:
Not all we believe that is true is in fact true. Sometimes, we have to learn to gauge whether it is a fact or just something we only believe. The more we try to hold on to our own belief only without giving a room for possibility that what we currently believe is not right and as a result, we overlooked the truth we are looking for.
Learn to listen to others and be open minded.
Sssshhh…
Last Thursday, on my way home from work. I was so sleepy. I was hoping to catch at least an hour sleep on my trip. Then I rode this bus and sat on the third lane from the last row. I was so happy because the bus didn’t have their usual T.V. on nor any radio. And all of the passengers were really quiet. That I am starting to think, oh yeah, they also want to sleep. 
So as I start to take a nap, there was three college students at the back who talk as if they are the only people inside the bus. I tried to ignore it but their voices are really loud to make everyone stay awake. It is perfectly okay if they are riding a cab and they are the only people to hear their nonsense topic.
And here it goes:
Girl One: Where are you planning to celebrate your debut?
Girl Two: We are planning to celebrate it at Villa Ocampo.
Boy: Villa Ocampo. Tito ko yung may- ari nun eh. (Villa Ocampo? My uncle is the owner of that place.) – Duh!, so that means he isn’t your uncle or any sort. And I don’t think you can even ask for discount since he last saw you when you were six. I wonder if he can still even remember you.
Girl One: Oh I see, maybe you could give Girl Two a discount.
Girl Two: Oo nga, baka naman pwede discount. (Yes, maybe you could ask for a discount.)
Girl One: Paano mo sya naging tito? (How did he became your tito?)
Boy: He is the godfather of my parents in their wedding. The owner is Jun Ocampo, and I last saw him when I was six ..
And their conversation went on, having this stupid ideas about the theme of her debut. Like wearing this very first dress worn by Filipinos during Spanish era to the attire worn by our ancestal Aetas.
Filipina fashion style during Spanish era
Loincloth or Bahag. Used by our first ancestors.
I wonder who would want to have this theme for their debut though. Maybe they are trying to impress other people but gosh, I am not impressed at all. I find them ridiculous.
Girl Two: Boy, alam mo I like this boy and he is making paramdam to me. (Boy, I like this boy and I think he is showing me some interest.)
Boy: Really?
Girl Two: Yes, and I think he will make iwan to his girlfriend. I am sure, he will do that kasi I am more pretty. ( Yes, I think he will leave his girlfriend. I am sure he will do that coz I am more pretty)
When I saw the girl two, geez, I am chubby I wont exchange my face with her. And number two reason why I am so irritated, if they want to speak in English, just speak in English, don’t do it in Tag-lish way (tagalog-english). If they want to sound like elite, they should avoid using this kind of lingo and the fact it doesn’t fit her face as well. Duh! I am so so irritated already coz I can’t get my sleep and even the old lady beside me started to complain.
Girl One: (She just keeps on pretending to the echo of Girl two using baby talks. Which I think doesn’t fit her face as well. Gosh, why they have to try to impress other people around, where in fact we find them all stupid already.
Girl Two to boy: Can I have an alcoholic drink?
Boy: The only thing I can give you is screwdriver.
Girl Two: Okay better than nothing.
Girl one: Gosh, I don’t know if I can take those kinds of wine. - Hello!!! Screwdriver is not a wine you moron. It is a mixed drinks!
And so my sacrifice of listening to their stupid conversation lasted till I reach the bus stop outside our village. I wish next time, these people will learn the word “respect”. They are in a public transport and as much as possible they should lower down their voice. They are trying to impress? Where in fact they are not impressing us, but rather irritating us.
Oh well, I think I will always encounter those kind of people everyday and everywhere.
The horse who wanted more beauty
A cosmic god had a horse. The horse was beautiful and also it had many good qualities. But it wanted to be more perfect in every way. It especially wanted to become beauty unparalleled.
One day the horse said to the cosmic god, “0 Lord, you have given me beauty. You have given me other good qualities. I am so grateful to you. But how I wish you could make me more beautiful. I would be extremely, extremely grateful if you could make me more beautiful.”
The cosmic god said, “I am more than ready to make you more beautiful. Tell me in what way you want to be changed.”
The horse said, “It seems to me that I am not well proportioned. My neck is too short. If you can make my neck a little longer, my upper body will be infinitely more beautiful. And if you can make my legs much longer
and thinner, then I will look infinitely more beautiful in my lower body.”The cosmic god said, “Amen” Then immediately he made a camel appear in place of the horse. The horse was so disheartened that it started to cry, “0 Lord, I wanted to become more beautiful. In what way is this kind of outer form more beautiful?”
The cosmic god said, “This is exactly what you asked for. You have become a camel.”
The horse cried, “Oh no, I do not want to become a camel I wish to remain a horse. As a horse, everybody appreciated my good qualities. Nobody will appreciate me as a camel.”
The cosmic god said, “Never try to achieve or receive more than I have given you. If you want to lead a desire-life, then at every moment you will want more and more. But you have no idea what the outcome will be. If you cry for a longer neck and legs, this is what will happen. Each thing in my creation has its own good qualities. The camel is not as beautiful as you are, but it carries heavy loads and has a tremendous sense of responsibility.
This is a very good example of being contented on what we have and what are given to us. Sometimes, we would always ask for more and we forget that each one of us is created to be unique from others. We cannot wish to be like someone and try to change everything about us. Remember it is only us who can play ourselves best except our own.
