More precious than a gem

[RedLantern]

A nice story to share.the writer is unknown.
"A wise woman who was traveling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream.The next day she met another traveler who was hungry and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the precious stone and ask the woman to give it to him.She did so without hesitation.The traveler left,rejoicing in his good fortune.He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime.But a few days later ,he came to return back the stone to the wise woman."I've been thinking "he said"I know how valuable the stone is ,but I give it back to you in hope that you can give me something even more precious,give me what you have within you that enable you to give me the stone.

[Tenzin Malgyur]

This is a good moral story. The traveler did not have so much greed in him to return the precious stone to the wise woman. He had the wisdom in him to realize the generosity of the wise woman and he wanted to know how she could part with the precious stone without hesitation. The lesson I learnt from this story is sometimes we make the wrong choice of what we need, we always look at material riches. Indeed, I want to have within myself too what the wise woman had. Generosity and not attached to worldly possessions.

[diablo1974]

The receiver has got the wisdom to think. He didnt just take and pawn the stone for money. Many people nowadays will just take and didnt realise that they need to give it back as gratitute. Good if they hav realised later but most did not.  Some bear grudges and never go away, taking on the grudge and live on everyday. They are lack of a teacher and dharma to guide them. Talking about grudge, its quite a torment and an big obstacle towards any spiritual practice. No matter what, we still need a teacher or a spiritual guide to hold our hands till our enlightenment.

[bambi]

I must say that the traveler has the wisdom to think that way! The practice of being able to let go and give may not be easy for many but I am know that I am trying hard now compared to last time. And I must say that, the feeling of giving and seeing the other person happy makes my day anytime... From little things to greater things... Although 1 step at a time... better than none... 


Giving up, giving in, just plain giving—Sharon Salzberg says that’s the truly transformative experience. Generosity opens our heart, frees us from attachment and is the basis of all good qualities. It’s the foundation of the Buddhist path.

The cultivation of generosity is the beginning of spiritual awakening. Generosity has tremendous force because it arises from an inner quality of letting go. Being able to let go, to give up, to renounce, and to give generously all spring from the same source, and when we practice generosity, dana, we open up these qualities within ourselves. Letting go gives us profound freedom and many loving ways to express that freedom. Generosity is the beginning of the path. When the Buddha taught, he always began with generosity.

The Buddha said that a true spiritual life is not possible without a generous heart. Generosity is the very first parami, or quality of an awakened mind. The path begins there because of the joy that arises from a generous heart. Pure unhindered delight flows freely when we practice generosity. We experience joy in forming the intention to give, in the actual act of giving, and in recollecting the fact that we’ve given.

If we practice joyful giving, we experience confidence. We grow in self-esteem, self-respect and well-being because we continually test our limits. Our attachments say, “I will give this much and no more,” or “I will give this article or object if I am appreciated enough for this act of giving.” In the practice of generosity, we learn to see through our attachments. We see they are transparent, that they have no solidity. They don’t need to hold us back, so we can go beyond them.

Therefore, the practice of generosity is about creating space. We see our limits and we extend them continuously, which creates an expansiveness and spaciousness of mind that’s deeply composed. This happiness, self-respect and spaciousness is the appropriate ground in which meditation practice can flourish. It is the ideal place from which to undertake deep investigation, because with this kind of inner happiness and spaciousness, we have the strength and flexibility to look at absolutely everything that arises in our experience.

[metta girl]

Sometimes in our life we meet people who are nice and some are nasty,either way we learn something from them.THis wise woman helped the traveler to gain  wisdom, The traveller felt bad taking the stone and regretted  it.This made him think deeper and gain some realisation. Because of the wise woman  kindness & non attachment in material things that really touched him.
"When we feel love and kindness toward others, it not only makes others feel loved and cared for, but it helps us also to develop inner happiness and peace."
'

[Tenzin K]

Nice story!
The wise women indeed gave the hungry traveler a great generosity. The hungry man definitely had a great realization on how easily the generous women can give away the precious stone to him. What he realize is not just how much the stone worth but the quality that the wise women that far more worth than the precious stone. His seed definitely open and if he met a great spiritual guide he will definitely excel.

[dondrup]

The woman was very kind and generous. She shared her food with a stranger. This is an example of giving material aid.

She realised she didn't own anything because at death she could not bring with her all her possession. Hence she wisely used what she had to benefit others. She gains merits as a result.

She realised that giving without expectation is true and genuine generosity.

She practised giving up her attachment to something so precious.

When she gives, she shall receive in accordance with the law of cause and effect.

She realised the giver, the action of giving and the recipient do not exist inherently.

[Aurore]

To me, this is a perfect scenario of how our actions and setting good examples has effects on others. To counter the traveller's greed, the wise woman displayed generosity and non-attachment to worldly materials. In return, this action inspired the traveller to want to gain such qualities. Such examples can be applied if we wish to see change in others by applying good qualitiies to ourselves.

[cookie]

The traveller who took the precious stone from the wise woman made an important change in his values. Firstly he took the stone out of greed and desire. But then he realized these were invalid virtues of life. The stone can only give him material satisfaction in this lifetime. his greed and desire would bring him negativity in his current and future lives. This realization of his wrong doing was significant and he made a change to it. This is an important point to learn . To realize our weaknesses and make positive changes . Most of us are ignorant and blinded by our desires that we find it hard or never able to get out of our comfort zones to move to higher levels of attainments. It was great that the traveller finally did realize that learning the methods to generating a generous mind was much more important then the actual material gain itself.

[eyesoftara]

Some wisdom and a kind of good greed on the part of the traveler. On the part of the wise woman it must be the Dharma. The perfection of generosity and the realization of the preciousness of the Dharma. In the Lamrim it is said the the Dharma is more precious than a billion wish fulfilling jewel. One can a wish fulfilling jewel for countless lives but even that cannot be compare to the Dharma. What is the use of having all that you can in the prison but is still suffering live after live. For the freedom from prison is more precious ie no suffering.

Hence, the moral is the Dharma is the most precious thing one could have. Do not waste it.

[cookie]

The traveller who took the precious stone from the wise woman made an important change in his values. Firstly he took the stone out of greed and desire. But then he realized these were invalid virtues of life. The stone can only give him material satisfaction in this lifetime. his greed and desire would bring him negativity in his current and future lives. This realization of his wrong doing was significant and he made a change to it. This is an important point to learn . To realize our weaknesses and make positive changes . Most of us are ignorant and blinded by our desires that we find it hard or never able to get out of our comfort zones to move to higher levels of attainments. It was great that the traveller finally did realize that learning the methods to generating a generous mind was much more important then the actual material gain itself.

[maricisun]

A wonderful story. What the women had in her was non attachment to anything. She can easily give away even the most precious gems which otherwise could be exchange for a luxury life.
It means that if we are not attached to anything then we will have no worries at all and be contended with what we have at the moment.