Let the Arrow Fly
Posted: Friday, August 06, 2010
by e
Dhammabucha Rocksprings Meditation
(This little tale is about life, and how we look in all the wrong places for our contentment).
A poor man and his wife lived in a small hut. Their one joy in life was giving food to a monk who would stop by their little hut every morning on his alms round.
Over many, many years, they got to know this monk almost as a son, and when he told them that it was time for him to move on, they were very sad. Seeing their sadness, the monk said, "I see your sadness, and I know that you do not have much. So I will help you. Before I leave, I will tell you where a great treasure lies."
So the next morning after the monk left, the poor man stood at his little doorway, and when that sun rose, he pulled back on the bow and shot the arrow toward the rising sun. He then ran after the arrow (followed by his wife who was carrying the shovel), and when they found where the arrow landed they began to dig. They dug and dug, but they found no treasure - all they found was trouble!
The arrow landed in the field of a rich man, and when the rich man caught them digging, he said, "You can't dig in my field. I'll have you arrested!"
And the poor man said, "But it was that monk! He told me that if I shot an arrow toward the rising sun, where it landed I would find a great treasure."
"Hmmm," thought the rich man, "I know these monks. And they don't lie."
"Tell you what," said the rich man, "I will shoot the arrow tomorrow morning from the doorway of my mansion, which is much greater than your little hut, and when we find the treasure, we'll split 50 - 50. How's that?"
So the next morning the rich man, the poor man (and his wife holding the shovel) all stood at the rich man's doorway. And when that sun rose, the rich man pulled back on the bow and shot the arrow toward the rising sun. All three then ran after the arrow and when they found where the arrow landed they all began to dig. They dug and dug, but there was no treasure - only more trouble.
The arrow landed in the field of a general, and when the general caught them digging, he said, "You can't dig here, this is military property. I'll have you imprisoned!"
And the rich man said " But it was this poor man, he told me that if I shot an arrow toward the rising sun, where it landed I would find a great treasure." And the poor man said, "But it was that monk! He told me that if I shot an arrow toward the rising sun, where it landed I would find a great treasure."
"Hmmm," thought the general, "I know these monks. And they don't lie."
"Tell you what, said the general, I will shoot the arrow tomorrow morning from the doorway of my barracks, and I am a professional, I really know how to shoot an arrow, and when we find the treasure, we'll split a third, a third, a third. How's that?"
So the next morning, the general, the rich man, the poor man (and his wife who was holding the shovel, and all the general's soldiers holding shovels - they really knew how to dig) all stood at the general's doorway. And when that sun rose, the general pulled back mightily on the bow and shot the arrow a long way toward the rising sun. And when they all ran after the arrow and found where the arrow landed, they all began to dig. They dug and dug, but there was no treasure - only more trouble, this time serious trouble. The arrow landed in the king's garden.
When the king's guards caught them digging, they rounded them up and brought them before the king. This was trouble, digging in the kings garden was a very serious offense.
The king said, "How dare you dig in my garden? This is a capital offense. What have you to say for yourself?" The general said, "But it was this rich man. He told me that if I shot an arrow toward the rising sun, where it landed I would find a great treasure."
And the rich man said, "But it was this poor man, he told me that if I shot an arrow toward the rising sun, where it landed I would find a great treasure."
And the poor man said, "But it was that monk! He told me that if I shot an arrow toward the rising sun, where it landed I would find a great treasure."
"Hmmm," thought the king, "I know these monks. And they don't lie."
So the king ordered his guards to round up the monk, and when they found him, they dragged him before the king.
"Why did you lie to the poor man and say that he would find a treasure where the arrow landed," asked the king.
"But I did not lie," said the monk. He did not follow my instructions. Tomorrow morning I will accompany you, my king, to your doorway of the castle. There I want you to stand with your bow and arrow facing the rising sun. And when that sun rises in the east, I want you to aim your arrow at that rising sun and let the arrow fly. And where it lands you will find a great treasure, greater than you can ever imagine. But you must follow my instructions.
So the king agreed, but warned them that if there was no treasure, they would all end up in the kings dungeons, from which nobody ever returned!
So the next morning, the king, the general, the rich man, the poor man, and his wife who was still holding the shovel, and the monk, all gathered at the king's doorway.
And when that sun rose, the king pulled back on the royal bow, and just as he was to shoot the arrow toward the rising sun, the monk said, "STOP! You are not following my instructions. I said, 'let the arrow fly,' not, 'shoot the arrow.'"
And with that, the king let go of the arrow and let it fly by itself, and it dropped between his feet, right where he was standing.
And when they dug, they found an immense treasure, just as the monk promised.
(The morals of this story are many. One is that the true treasure always lies right where we are standing. We shoot our arrows all over the place during a lifetime and generally find that many of our arrows lead eventually to heartaches and troubles. Even the best of situations, many times lasting for years, even decades, becomes devastating when it is taken from us. But the arrow that falls at our feet; ah, there is where contentment is found that can't be taken away. All we have to do is look within).
. - From a talk by Ajahn Brahm, abbot of Bodhinyana Theravada Buddhist Monastery, Perth Australia. You can view more of his talks at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Xn6RMT6qZ4
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More commentsI loved the simplicity in this story- click your heels three times-"There's no place like home, there's no place like home," our home is within us- and happiness is in our own back yard.- Thanks E- Always- EllaThanks for your wonderful support!Best.....e
Who is there, in the world, that has the right to judge creativity from an inspirational viewpoint or any other for that matter. Original thinking is cool.Be Blessed;Harm...............:)Very true Nathan. Thank you.
Hey.. You have done a great job!! Keep it up Rock.. it will boost your willing!!Thank you.
I enjoyed the story, but there was a bit of playing on words like " shoot" and "fly". The Zen masters would have it more on shooting an arrow without an aim and yet hitting the mark. Or hearing the sound of one hand clapping.Anyway, the morals were given and thats it.the important thing is to see if you, yourself, shoot arrows outwardly and expect pleasure to result, or if you let your arrows drop and see what kind of contentment that offers. It's always up to you. Thank you Acepiney.
Hi e.I think the hardest thing to accept is that you already have everything you really need. We're always looking for a fix for our situation outside of ourselves. The classic "If only I had (fill in the blank), then I'd be happy" syndrome.Great story.Hugs, DianneYeah, we can never find lasting happiness that way. Thanks Dianne.
I thought this was entertaining and taught a good lesson.Thank you so much Lisa.
What a great story! Wow! Thanks so much for sharing this, sir. 5 stars (and an extra arrow, although you only need the one . . . )!Just need one arrow! Great insight Mike.Thanks.....e
I'm reading this for a second time in Reader's Club so have already commented but I will gladly rate you again!Thank you so much for taking the time Brianna. That is very kind.Best.....e
Great article. Well done.Very interesting, thought provoking and entertaining article. I greatly enjoyed reading.Now where did I but that bow? And those sunglasses? Joking.Thank you so much Conner. I respect your comments very much.Best .....e
e, great story...it's like the riddle of the magic finger. i tried the effort after only reading page 1. i almost shot a squirrel-that'l teach me to read the entire story next time.Hah! That's funny Bing. Thanks for reading and commenting.Best......e
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