29 lines
1.9 KiB
Plaintext
29 lines
1.9 KiB
Plaintext
THE LITTLE GOLDEN BIRD
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Once upon a time . . . several Buddhist monks lived in a great temple that
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stood in a magnificent garden full of flowers and rare plants. The monks spent
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their days contentedly in prayer and meditation, and the beauty of their
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surroundings was all they needed to make them forget the world. Then one day,
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something happened to change their life in this peaceful corner, making the
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days seem shorter and not so monotonous. No longer did they live peacefully
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together, indeed they started to quarrel. But what had happened?
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A young monk had arrived, upsetting their lives by telling them all about
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the outside world beyond the garden wall. He told them about cities, the
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bright lights, everyday life full of entertainments and pleasure. And when the
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monks heard about this different world, they no longer wanted to remain in
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what had, till then, seemed paradise, but now turned into a lonely existence.
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With the young monk as their leader, first one group then another left the
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temple. Weeds began to sprout on the paths and the temple was almost deserted.
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Then the last five monks, torn between their love for the sacred spot and the
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wish to see the new world they'd heard about, sadly got ready to leave.
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But just as they were about to turn their backs on the temple, a golden
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bird, dangling five long white strings, fluttered over their heads. Each monk
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felt himself drawn to clasp one of the strings, and suddenly the little group
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found itself carried away to the land of their dreams. And there, they saw the
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outside world as it really was, full of hate, misery and violence, a world
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without scruples, where peace was forever banned.
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It was a long journey, and when the golden bird brought them back to the
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temple garden, they decided never to leave it again. Three times the bird
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circled overhead before it vanished into the sky. And the monks knew then that
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Buddha had come to help them find the pathway to true happiness.
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