The Generous Student.

Lin Piao used to absent himself from classes very often and one day the principal of the college made up his mind to expel him. So he sent for the young man.

Lin arrived just as the principal was about to go for lunch.

“Is this the time to come!” said the principal, sternly.

“Forgive me, Sir,” said Lin, “but I got to college very late today. You see, I found a lump of gold in our field.”

“A lump of gold!” said the principal, his eyes popping out. “Oh, my, what are you going to do with it?”

“I decided to build a palatial house, buy several acres of land and several head of cattle,” said the student. “I also decided to give you a small sum for the trouble you have taken in educating me.”

The principal was pleased and invited Lin to eat with him. The young man ate ravenously but the principal hardly touched his food. He was wondering how much Lin would give him and if it would be enough to buy that small paddy field he had always wanted.

“I hope you’ve kept the gold in a safe place,” he said, suddenly coming out of his reverie.

“I never got a chance to do that,” said Lin. “It disappeared the moment my mother shook me awake.”

“What!” screamed the principal. “You mean it was all a dream?!”

The young man nodded.

The principal controlled himself with a great effort of will.

“I’m happy you remembered me in your dream,” he said, finally. “I hope you remember me when you really get some gold. Now please leave.”

It was only when the young man had left that the principal remembered why he had sent for him.

Once a young man was passing by a street where he saw an old man sitting on
road side begging for money.
That old man was sitting there with an empty bowl in kept in front of him and a
card board sign was kept beside that empty bowl.
On card board cut out it was written: “Blind – Please Help…!”
Young man noticed that despite it was rush hour and many people were passing
by that old man yet no one was giving him any money.
Young man felt very bad that no one was helping that old man or giving him any
money.
So he went to that old man and took his card board in his hand. He then took out a
thick marker pen out of his pocket and turned the cardboard sheet back-to-front
and re-wrote the sign then went on her way.
Old man noticed that someone was there writing something on the board but
didn’t said anything.
Just in few minutes, that empty bowl was now filled with money. Old man noticed
that and stopped a stranger and asked him what was written on that card board.
Stranger replied, “It says.. – It’s a beautiful day. You can see it. I cannot..”
MORAL:
Our Choice of Words and Language can create Positive or Negative effect on
other. If we Choose right words then we can truly connect with people and
Change their Views.

One day the Zen master wanted to show his students a new technique of shooting an arrow. He told his students to cover his eyes with a cloth and then he shot his arrow. When he opened his eyes, he saw the target with no arrow in it and when he looked at his students, they looked sad because their teacher had missed.
The Zen master asked them, “What lesson do you think I intend to teach you all today?” They answered, “We thought you would show us how to shoot at the target without looking.” The Zen master said, “No, I taught you that if you want to be successful in life, don’t forget the target. You have to keep an eye on the target, otherwise you may miss a good opportunity in life.” They looked at each other, impressed with the lesson.
The moral of the story is we need to consistently focus on what we want and we need to realize that :
What thoughts we focus on we FEEL, therefore our thoughts have a direct effect on our emotions
What we focus on and feel we attract in our lives. Our destiny is consistently shaped by our thoughts.

I am like a grain of wheat which faces one of the three futures. The wheat can be placed in a sack & dumped in a stall until it is fed to swine. Or It can be ground to flour and made into a Bread. or It can be placed in the earth and allowed to grow until it’s golden head divides and produces a thousand grains of the one.
I am like a grain of wheat with one difference. The wheat cannot choose whether it be fed to swine, ground for bread, or planted to multiply. I have a choice and I will not let my life be fed to swine nor will I let myself be ground under the rocks of failure & despair to be broken open & devoured by the will of others.
Now, Like the wheat of grain which will sprout and blossom only if it is nurtured with rain and sun and warm winds. I must nurture my body and mind to fulfill my dreams. But to grow to full stature the wheat must wait on the whims of nature. I need not wait for I have the power to change my life. I will set goals for the day, the week, the month, the year and my Life.
In setting my goals, I will consider my best performance of the past and multiply it a hundred fold. This will be the standard by which I will live in the future.
I can reach my goal, If I plan and act on it. My actions matter for my results.

The height of my goals will not hold me though I stumble often before they are reached. If I stumble I will rise and my falls will not concern me, for all men must stumble often to reach the goals. only a worm is free from the worry of stumbling. I am not a worm. I am not a sheep. I am a man/woman.
Let others build small houses , I will build a castle with the bricks I have, one brick at a time. Like the sun warms earth, this story will warm my Life and turn my dreams into reality.

Today I will surpass every action I performed yesterday, I will surpass my own deeds & not bothered by what others are doing.
I will aim high, I will raise my goals as soon as I achieve them.
Read the following affirmations aloud.
I am Great. I can do it. I am on top of the world.
Let the world approach me with praise and I have wisdom to receive it in humility.
I am the ———- of my Life(Hero/ Heroin)

A psychology professor entered the classroom with half a glass of water in his hand.
The students expected the old common question was it half empty or half full?” But to
the surprise, he asked them “How heavy is this glass of water?”
The answers given by the students ranged from 7 oz. to 25 oz. But the professor
replied that the actual weight of the glass with water doesn’t always matter but how
long you hold the glass is what matters.
If you hold the glass for a minute, you won’t feel much weight. But if you hold for 10
minutes, you will feel a little more weight and it gets heavier for you with hours.
If you hold it for the entire day, then your hands would go numb and pain. Similar is
the case when you carry stress with you. If you think about it for a while and leave it,
then there is no problem but if you think about it for hours, it starts becoming a
problem and it becomes worse if you sleep with it.
Moral: You should learn to let go of your stresses and never sleep with it. If you can
do something about it, just do it. In the other case, just leave it and work towards your
goals or else it just kills your productivity.

Knowledge is Power:

Once there a was great teacher who had many students.

Once one of the students came to him and asked “I have read lots of books but forgotten most of them. What’s the purpose of reading?”.
The teacher didn’t give him an answer at that time.

After few days teacher gave that student a sieve which was in dirty and in very bad condition as shown in the picture.
The teacher asked the student to fetch water from a nearby river in this sieve.

The student didn’t like the idea but he could not refuse his teacher.

He went to the river, filled sieve at the river and started his return journey.

Few feet as he walks, all water in the sieve was drained through holes.

Then again he went to the river and filled sieve.

He did this all day but could not complete the task assigned by his teacher.

He returned to the teacher with a sad face and said “ I am unable to fetch water with this sieve. I am failed “

His teacher smiled at him.

No! You didn’t fail.

Look at the sieve.
It has become like new. It got clean when you were trying to fetch water.

The teacher then explained the true motive behind this task.

He said “ Last time you asked me what is the purpose of reading if you don’t remember what you read. Now take this example of the sieve.

Sieve = Mind

Water = Knowledge

River = Book

Even if you can’t remember its ok!

But reading will definitely make your mind sharp. “

Reading has a profound impact on our mind, brain[1] .

It helps to be a better version of yourself.

This is a subconscious process.

The story ends here.

I have read hundreds of books till date.

I don’t remember all the things from them.

But I certainly know that I am smarter than before and hence I will keep reading.

Footnotes

Shoe Salesmen in Africa..

Many years ago two salesmen were sent by a British shoe manufacturer to Africa to investigate and report back on market potential.

The first salesman reported back, “There is no potential here – nobody wears shoes.” The second salesman reported back, “There is massive potential here – nobody wears shoes.”

This simple short story provides one of the best examples of how a single situation may be viewed in two quite different ways – negatively or positively. The question is, when confronted with a problem or challenge, which salesman are you ?

The forest wolf spent his nights howling at the moon. He was making fun of her, of how old she was, how slowly she moved, and how little light she had. In the same forest, when the howling had stopped, the little hedgehog would come out to console the moon.

One day, both the wolf and the hedgehog were far from home and were caught unawares by a great storm. When the storm subsided, both animals were lost. As the moon came out, the wolf began his usual howling, while the hedgehog was feeling sad and frightened at being lost.

Before long the hedgehog heard a voice calling him, but he couldn’t see anyone around. It was the moon, who was so grateful for the hedgehog’s constant help and advice, that she wanted to help him find his way home. So the moon gathered up all her light into one single ray, to help show the hedgehog how to get back safely.

The hedgehog arrived home in the early hours, while the wolf remained lost, out in the darkness, and scared to death. Only then did he realise that all his rudeness to the moon had been pointless and cruel. The moon didn’t shine for him until the wolf asked for forgiveness for his bad attitude, and promised not to bother anyone again like that.

IT’s NEVER TOO LATE: The Creator created people, gave them words for communication and thinking, settled them in the fertile valley at the foot of the mountains, gave them longevity and started to observe, how they will aspire to the development. The time has passed, but people did not develop. They did not go beyond their village and did not climb up the mountains. Their eyes did not look at the sky and did not look in the Heart. So they became old. The Creator decided to find out, what was the matter. He became a man and came to them as a traveller. Before sunset people gathered at the square to talk with the traveller. He described them a life beyond the horizon and suggested: – Do you want me to lead you there, and you will see how people live in these places? — Oh, — they answered sadly, – it is late, we became old … – Then come with me to the mountains to look at the world from the top! — Oh, — they suspired, — it is too late, we have no energy … — Look at the sky, — the traveller said them, — and I will tell you about the life in the Kingdom of Heaven! They answered again: — It is late; our mind will not understand your story … The traveller became sad. He decided to cheer people. — Let‘s sing a song! — he said and was going to sing first, but people noticed that the sun went down. — It is late, — they said, — it is time to sleep… — and went to their huts. The traveller shouted them: — People, when life is continuous and infinite, it is not late for any achievements! But they did not turn back. Then the Creator told himself: — I will take away all words of limitation from people: „late“, „not“, „impossible“, „far“, „high“, „hard“, „will not understand“, and will place in their hearts the joy of infinity. Maybe they will perceive my Law: nothing is late, because there is no end, there is only the beginning! He did so and waited for the morning: will people change and will they go with him to the mountains?

There was once a well-educated, highly successful man who went to visit a Zen master to ask for
solutions to his problems. As the Zen master and the man conversed, the man would frequently
interrupt the Zen master to interject his own beliefs, not allowing the Zen master to finish many
sentences.
Finally, the Zen master stopped talking and offered the man a cup of tea. When the Zen master
poured the tea, he kept pouring after the cup was full, causing it to overflow.
“Stop pouring,” the man said, “The cup is full.”
The Zen master stopped and said, “Similarly, you are too full of your own opinions. You want my
help, but you have no room in your own cup to receive my words.”
Moral of the story:
This Zen story is a reminder that your beliefs are not you. When you unconsciously hold on to your
beliefs, you become rigid and closed-mind to learn and expand your consciousness. The path to
self-realization is to stay conscious of your beliefs and always be open to learning.