Sufi Story about possessions

[GRiM]

Mula came upon a frowning man walking along the road to town. “What’s wrong?” he asked. The man held up a tattered bag and moaned, “All that I own in this wide world barely fills this miserable, wretched sack.”

“Too bad,” said Mula, and with that, he snatched the bag from the man’s hands and ran down the road with it.

Having lost everything, the man burst into tears and, more miserable than before, continued walking. Meanwhile, Mula quickly ran around the bend and placed the man’s sack in the middle of the road where he would have to come upon it.

When the man saw his bag sitting in the road before him, he laughed with joy, and shouted, “My sack! I thought I’d lost you!”

Watching through the bushes, Mula chuckled. “Well, that’s one way to make someone happy!”

A Sufi Story from the Middle East

a story I stumbled upon..

 

[Anders]

Thank you for this story.

 

[Renaissance]

Reminds of when gas prices in the US go down from $3.20 to $3.05. Or perhaps how many American might feel about their 'rebate' checks. Perhaps the story isn't so much about possessions as it is about conditioning.

 

[JonnyRadar]

:D apropos and rightly hilarious as well... thanks!

 

[mada85]

I love this story. So simple, yet so rich.

Mula chuckled. “Well, that’s one way to make someone happy!”

Being a Sufi story, 'Mula' is probably a misspelling of 'Mullah', as in Mullah Nasr'uddin.

In English, 'Mula' would be pronounced 'moolah'; 'moolah' is a slang word meaning 'money', which puts a rather interesting perspective on the tale.

 

[GRiM]

Im glad you liked it, I searched around for a few other short interesting stories.

I find this one insightful.

"What is Fate?" Nasrudin was asked by a Scholar.

"An endless succession of intertwined events, each influencing the other."

"That is hardly a satisfactory answer. I believe in cause and effect."

"Very well," said the Mulla, "look at that." He pointed to a procession passing in the street."

"That man is being taken to be hanged. Is that because someone gave him a silver piece and enabled him to buy the knife with which he committed the murder; or because someone saw him do it; or because nobody stopped him?"

When the Waters Were Changed

Once upon a time Khidr, the teacher of Moses, called upon mankind with a warning. At a certain date, he said, all the water in the world which had not been specially hoarded, would disappear. It would then be renewed, with different water, which would drive men mad.

Only one man listened to the meaning of this advice. He collected water and went to a secure place where he stored it, and waited for the water to change its character.

On the appointed date the streams stopped running, the wells went dry, and the man who had listened, seeing this happening, went to his retreat and drank his preserved water.

When he saw, from his security, the waterfalls again beginning to flow, this man descended among the other sons of men. He found that they were thinking and talking in an entirely different way from before; yet they had no memory of what had happened, nor of having been warned. When he tried to talk to them, he realized that they thought that he was mad, and they showed hostility or compassion, not understanding.

At first, he drank none of the new water, but went back to his concealment, to draw on his supplies, every day. Finally, however, he took the decision to drink the new water because he could not bear the loneliness of living, behaving and thinking in a different way from everyone else. He drank the new water, and became like the rest. Then he forgot all about his own store of special water, and his fellows began to look upon him as a madman who had miraculously been restored to sanity.

(I can relate to this one :))

Once upon a time many moons ago, two monks were walking in silence through the forest; a younger monk, Anjan, and an older monk, Nanda.

Eventually their path led to a stream. There they saw a beautiful young lady, exquisitely clad, standing on the bank. She was in great distress because she wanted to cross the stream, but did not know how without getting her fine long robes wet.

Without hesitation Nanda scooped her up, crossed the stream, and set her down on dry ground. She thanked him and continued on her way, and the monks continued on theirs again in silence.

Anjan was a bit distressed and confused. He got more restless by the minute and then finally spoke up.

"Brother Nanda," he said, "I do not know what to make of it. You know our order is an austere order, and we cannot so much as speak to a woman. But... but... you saw that lady, you... uh... picked her up and... carried her across the stream! And yet..." he continued, almost choking, "You just keep on walking as if nothing happened!"

"It is quite simple," Nanda replied. "I set her down on the opposite bank, but you, Brother Anjan, are still carrying her!"

This is a Zen story. Zen is a Buddhist school that developed in China and later in Japan as a result of the fusion between the Mahayana form of Buddhism originating in India and the Chinese philosophy of Taoism. A similar story can be found in, "Zen Flesh Zen Bones" by Paul Reps.

 

[parapadi]

When the Waters Were Changed

Once upon a time Khidr, the teacher of Moses, called upon mankind with a warning. At a certain date, he said, all the water in the world which had not been specially hoarded, would disappear. It would then be renewed, with different water, which would drive men mad.

Yea the water must have fluorine right?

=) =)

 

[OzRich]

I love this story. So simple, yet so rich.

If you like this stories, you will absolutely love Idries Shah's "Tales of the Dervishes" (GRIm's post has one).

Let me just quote what one of the reviewers had to say (on amazon.com):
"Stories that will shake your assumptions and strict belief in the established, conventional, trusted and safe relationship between cause and effect. These stories, if nothing else, open your mind to a different way of thinking. By doing that, it awakens parts of your brain that normally stay dormant. A fresh look at everyday occurrences, unquestioned practices and established thought-processes. It has an invigorating value. You don't have to 'believe' anything the author says: he is not selling anything, not even ideas. Just read and observe what happens to yourself, since these stories are about you."

Fascinating reading...

 

[GRiM]

Not a Sufi-story and not about possessions, but still very true;

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.
He said, "My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all.

One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.
The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

 

[cindyj]

Thanks to you all for those stories! The last one in particular was a big "Ah Ha" for me today as I'm working through some strong feelings and concerns.

Cheers to all,

Cindy

 

[mamadrama]

During a time of civil war in Korea, a certain general led his troops through province after province, overrunning whatever stood in his path. The people of one town, knowing that he was coming and having heard tales of his cruelty, all fled into the mountains. The general arrived in the empty town with his troops and sent them out to search the town. Some of the soldiers came back and reported that only one person remained, a Zen priest. The general strode over to the temple, walked in, pulled out his sword, and said, "Don't you know who I am? I am the one who can run through you without batting an eye."
The Zen master looked back and calmly responded, "And I , sir, am one who can be run through without batting an eye." The general, hearing this, bowed and left.