An
Indian farmer and his child were toiling in the fields. It was almost
dark by the time they had finished their work and the farmer said to
the child, "Wow! It's getting dark! Quickly pack up the tools and
run. Let's run quickly!"
"Relax.
We're not far from home and we know the way home. Why are you in such
a panic?" asked the child.
"There's
something you don't know. I'm generally fearless. I'm not afraid of
tigers or lions. I'm only afraid of the night. When the night comes,
I'm completely powerless. The night is most terrifying to me. I'm really
frightened of it. I can't stand it," answered the farmer.
It
so happened that a lion was hiding nearby and overheard their conversation.
"What's this thing called 'the night'? How could it be more fearful
than I am? I must find out about it," the lion mused as it moved
closer to the farmer, hoping to learn more about this "night"
that was even more frightening than itself.
Then
darkness fell and the farsighted farmer couldn't see nearby objects
clearly. He only saw the vague outline of an animal approaching, thought
it was the donkey he had recently lost, and beat the lion several times,
saying, "I've been looking for you all day. Where have you been?
How dare you come back so late?"
"This
is the end of me," the lion thought with regret. "How could
I have been so stupid as to come so close to this thing called 'the
night' that beat me just now? It's really horrifying. What should I
do now?" As these thoughts flashed through the lion's mind, the
farmer again slapped it several times, urging it to go home with him.
The petrified lion then obediently followed the farmer back to his house.
It
was even darker when they reached home. Since the farmer continued to
mistake the lion for his donkey, he tied it in a corner outside his
house before he went to bed. That night, the lion stayed out in the
cold, starving, petrified and not knowing what to expect of "the
night" when morning dawned. It believed that the farmer was "the
night."
Early
the next morning, before dawn broke, the farmer got up and took his
"donkey" to the fields. On the way, another lion passed by
and found it hilarious to see a lion obediently following a farmer.
It then approached the captive lion and asked, "What are you doing?
Why are you walking behind this man?"
"Shh!
Keep your voice down and leave quickly. Don't you know that this being
walking in front is something called 'the night.' He's very terrible.
Last night, he beat me and shackled me, leaving me cold and starving
the entire night. I have no idea where he's taking me now. Run along
or your life will be in danger!"
After
hearing this story, the other lion said, "You're incredible. You
idiot! You're a lion, the king of animals! You've been deceived! Just
roar at him now and you'll know who is more terrifying." The lion
accepted his advice and roared loudly, so the farmer took a closer look.
Now that the sky had become brighter, he saw that it was a lion. Wow!
He bolted like lightning, and the lion was free again.
The
moral of this story is that we humans have wisdom, immense power and
status. However, if we're stupid, ignorantly follow the Prince of the
Devils, and are thus controlled by karma, we can't possibly be liberated.
However, if another soul who knows who he is and is not afraid comes
to teach us what to do, we can be liberated. This is what an Enlightened
Master does.
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