The difference between heaven and hell

A holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, "Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like." The Lord led the holy man to two doors. He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in. In the middle of the room was a large round table.

In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew which smelled delicious and made the holy man's mouth water. The people sitting round the table were thin and sickly.

They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful, but because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths. The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering.

The Lord said, "You have seen Hell."

They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man's mouth water.

The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking.

The holy man said, "I don't understand." "It is simple" said the Lord, "it requires but one skill. You see, they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves."

Enlarge your sense of things

The Master instructed the unhappy student to put a handful of salt in a glass of water and then to drink it. "How does it taste?" The Master asked. Awful," said the student.

The Master then asked the student to take another handful of salt and throw it in the lake. The two walked to the nearby lake and when the student swirled his handful of salt into the lake, the old man said, "Now drink from the lake." The student did so and the Master asked, "How does it taste?" Good!" Remarked the student. "Do you taste the salt?" Asked the Master. "No, said the young man.

The Master sat beside this troubled young man, took his hands, and said, "The pain of life is pure salt; no more, no less. The amount of pain in life remains the same, exactly the same. But the amount we taste the 'pain' depends on the container we put it into. So when you are in pain, the only thing you can do is to enlarge your sense of things..... Stop being a glass. Become a lake!"

One by One

Once a man was walking along a beach. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. Off in the distance he could see a person going back and forth between the surf's edge and and the beach. Back and forth this person went. As the man approached he could see that there were hundreds of starfish stranded on the sand as the result of the natural action of the tide.

The man was stuck by the the apparent futility of the task. There were far too many starfish. Many of them were sure to perish. As he approached the person continued the task of picking up starfish one by one and throwing them into the surf.

As he came up to the person he said, "You must be crazy. There are thousands of miles of beach covered with starfish. You can't possibly make a difference." The person looked at the man. He then stooped down and pick up one more starfish and threw it back into the ocean. He turned back to the man and said, "It sure made a difference to that one!"

"The Sun never says" by Hafiz

Even after all this time

The sun never says to the earth,

"You owe me."


Look what happens with a love like that -

it lights the whole world.

A Sufi saying

Since you are not a prophet, follow the way taught by prophets. Since you are not a king, be a loyal subject to the king. Since you are not a captain, do not take the helm of the ship. Since you do not possess every skill, have partners in your business. Be as pliant as dough in the hands of others, that you may rise well.

-A Sufi saying

The beggar and the monk

A monk was meditating in the desert when a beggar came up to him and said: 'I need to eat'.

The monk – who was almost reaching the point of perfect harmony with the spiritual world – did not answer.

'I need to eat', insisted the beggar.

'Go to the town and ask someone else. Can’t you see that you are bothering me? I am trying to communicate with the angels”.

'God placed himself lower than men, washed their feet, gave His life, and no-one recognized Him', the beggar replied. 'He who says he loves God – who does not see – and forgets his brother - who does – is lying'.

And the beggar turned into an angel.

'What a pity, you almost made it', he remarked before leaving.

Sufi Story

One day the sun and a cave struck up a conversation. The sun had trouble understanding what "dark" and "dank" meant and the cave didn't quite get the hang of "light and clear" so they decided to change places. The cave went up to the sun and said, "Ah, I see, this is beyond wonderful. Now come down and see where I have been living." The sun went down to the cave and said, "Gee, I don't see any difference."

Sufi legend: the lost horse

Many years ago in a poor Chinese village, there lived a peasant with his son. His only material possession, apart from some land and a small straw hut, was a horse he had inherited from his father.

One day, the horse ran off, leaving the man with no animal with which to till the land. His neighbors - who respected him greatly for his honesty and diligence - came to his house to say how much they regretted what had happened. He thanked them for their visit, but asked:- How can you know that what has happened has been a misfortune in my life?

Someone mumbled to a friend: "he can't accept reality, let him think what he wants, as long as he isn't saddened by what happened."

And the neighbors went off, pretending to agree with what they had heard.

A week later, the horse returned to the stable, but it was not alone; it brought with it a fine mare for company. Upon hearing this, the villagers - who were flustered since they now understood the answer the man had given them - returned to the peasant's house, in order to congratulate him on his good fortune. Before you had only one horse, and now you have two. Congratulations! - they said.

Many thanks for your visit and for all your concern - answered the peasant. - But how can you know that what has happened has been a blessing in my life?

Disconcerted, and thinking he must be going mad, the neighbors went off, and on the way commented: "does he really not understand that God has sent him a gift?"

A month later, the peasant's son decided to tame the mare. But the animal unexpectedly reared up and the boy fell and broke his leg.

The neighbors returned to the peasant's house - bringing gifts for the wounded boy. The mayor of the village offered his condolences to the father, saying that all were very sad at what had happened.

The man thanked them for their visit and their concern, but asked: How can you know that what has happened has been a misfortune in my life?

They were all astonished to hear this, since no one could be in any doubt that the accident of a son was a real tragedy. As they left the peasant's house, some said to others: "he really has gone mad; his only son might limp forever, and he is still in doubt about whether what happened is a misfortune."

Some months passed, and Japan declared war on China. The Emperor's envoys traveled throughout the land in search for healthy young men to be sent to the battle front. Upon arrival in the village, they recruited all the young men except the peasant's son, whose leg was broken.

None of the young men returned alive. The son recovered, the two animals bred and their offspring were sold at a good price. The peasant began visiting his neighbors to console and help them, - since they had at all times been so caring. Whenever one of them complained, the peasant said: "how do you know it is a misfortune?" If anyone become overjoyed, he asked: "how do you know it is a blessing?" And the men in that village understood that beyond appearances, life often has other meanings.

Sufi saint

One day, the Sufi saint prayed to God.
"Oh God, You are so wonderful. You have created marvellous things in this world. Yet, in this beautiful world created by You, there is so much misery, suffering, pain, violence and what not. Why don't You do something about it?"

"I have done something," replied God. "You have done something? Where is that? What is that? I don't see it," said the Sufi saint in reply.

God then slowly whispered, "Son, I created you!"

It will go away...

A disciple once went to his master say, excitedly,
"Master, I just had a vision!"
The master replied,
"Sit down. Meditate. It will go away."

"It will pass"

A student went to his meditation teacher and said, "My meditation is horrible! I feel so distracted, or my legs ache, or I'm constantly falling asleep. It's just horrible!"

"It will pass," the teacher said matter-of-factly.

A week later, the student came back to his teacher. "My meditation is wonderful! I feel so aware, so peaceful, so alive! It's just wonderful!"

"It will pass," the teacher replied matter-of-factly.