There was a young man, restless by nature, who entered a new town looking for a place to settle down and begin anew his life. Upon his arrival, he went to the local monastery and asked to see the abbot, an old man both venerable and wise.
He asked the abbot, ‘What are the people like in this town?’
The old man paused a moment and then asked the young man, ‘What were people like in the last town that you lived in?’
The young man replied, ‘Oh, they were horrible folk: greedy and lustful and mean spirited!’
The abbot replied, ‘That is exactly what people are like in this town.’
And so the young man moved on from town to town and never found a home to settle down.
A few days later, another young man entered the town looking for a place to settle down and like his predecessor, sought out the advice of the venerable old abbot. ‘What are people like in this town?’, he asked.
‘What were people like in the last town that you lived in?’ asked the abbot.
The young man replied, ‘Oh, they were kind and generous and filled with the joy of living. They were wonderful folks!’
The abbot replied, ‘That is exactly what people are like in this town. You are in luck!’
And so the second young man settled down in the town, married, raised his children and lived a long and happy life.
A short story about perception
There is an old Buddhist saying that goes something like this: ‘Other people appear as pigs in the eyes of a pig, whereas, other people appear as Buddhas in the eyes of a Buddha.’ If we are always looking for and expecting the worst from people, that is exactly what we will see, what we will get back. On the other hand, if we make an effort to always look for the good in others, that is exactly what we will see in others and will get back. Our perceptions of others determine how we interact with them. If you treat others with kindness and respect, more often than not, you will receive kindness and respect back.
“It never hurts to think too highly of a person; often they become ennobled by it and act better because of it.”
– Nelson Mandela
Then it was as if I suddenly saw
The secret beauty of their hearts,
The depths of their hearts where neither
Sin nor self-knowledge can reach:
The core of their reality;
The person that each one is
In the eyes of the Divine.
If only they could all see themselves
As they really are.
If only we could all see each other
That way all the time.
There would be no more war,
No more hatred, no more cruelty;
No more greed!
I suppose the big problem would be that
We would all fall down worshipping each other.
– Thomas Merton
