One
year, as autumn was drawing to an end, Master and disciples went into the
mountains for a break. It was at dusk when we gathered in the bamboo forest,
ready to bake chapatis. We started a fire and enjoyed the warmth as well as
the sight of it; the atmosphere was loving and sweet.
There were some foreign
disciples around Master. They and Master took turns telling jokes. Telling
a joke might seem easy, but it did require some talent, especially when speaking
in a foreign language, and it amounted to a test of language ability. Whether
the speakers knew the trick could be discerned from the stare of those listening
was unknown. But if they stared into the space, got lost in contemplation,
or just chuckled dryly for a couple of seconds, we knew the joke teller still
had a long way to go.
Our "Master of humor," on
the other hand, was the Master of Masters in this field. As long as She felt
like it, She could have the listeners laugh themselves into tears throughout
Her lecture, and She could do that in several different languages. The international
retreat was an even more spectacular occasion, where wave after wave of laughter,
through the timing of translations, would spread among disciples from many
different countries.
That day when Master and
disciples were joking and laughing, casually She passed a slice of lemon to
a disciple nearby. (Master once told us, baking chapatis with a little lemon
juice on the top would make them taste better and help us avoid dehydration
through baked foods.) No sooner had he received it, he put it right into his
mouth and swallowed it whole, without so much as even peeling it. He then
went on with his talk without a frown, as if nothing had happened.
Watching all this on the
spot, I could have fallen on my glasses had I not strived to pull myself together.
I kept thinking, "Master gave him the lemon to squeeze juice from, why in
the world would he swallowed it?" I racked my fossilized brain, trying desperately
to make sense of what I had seen, but couldn't figure it out. Finally, God
took pity on this idiosyncratic fossil, fearing that it might be a loss to
the "stone" circle if I should blow up my brains. Then something occurred
to me, which made me broke into laughter: God lets all sentient beings have
their own way. If that brother wasn't bothered by the sour taste, why should
I care? What a rigid soul I had been! Besides, now I had another use for lemons.
Retrospectively,
every time Master gave me an assignment, either one of "national importance"
or just to pass a message, I would proceed with perfect awe and discretion.
I would not even dare to take one deep breath, for fear that I might spoil
God's grand deliverance of sentient beings, which is of life-and-death significance.
Master has always been so democratic and amiable. Alas, my solemnity has always
got on Her nerves, if not interrupted Her inspiration. Neither has ever been
my intention.
On the contrary, some innocent
fellow initiates have always been so easy-going but successful in their work
with Master. I hope that Master will have more such disciples so She won't
have to be exhausted as She often is. Now I know that relaxation does not
interfere, but instead goes hand in hand, with concentration. How relaxed
and burden-free people can be in the high spiritual worlds!
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