I came across this story and has a profound message.
A prostitute and a monk formerly lived in an ancient Japanese city. They had never met before. They didn't even know each other. Nonetheless, each of them was profoundly inspired by the other. Their lives were inextricably linked.
Every evening, on her way to earn a night's wage, the prostitute would pass by the Buddhist temple where this monk lived. Every evening, the young monk would sit outside in the temple garden and meditate.
As she walked through the monastery, the young prostitute would notice the monk seated in meditation and thought to herself, "What a remarkable young man. What a noble existence he leads. Such a pure existence, free of the world's problems and concerns. What a rare and fantastic find!"
These thoughts sustained the young woman and gave her strength to endure her life.
Just to know that someone was leading such a pure life gave her both hope and encouragement, even though she knew that such purity could never be her own. She always felt blessed just walking by the temple and being in the presence of such sacred energy.
Despite claiming to be in profound meditation, the monk couldn't help but notice the woman.
As the young woman strolled by the temple every evening, the monk became preoccupied and thought to himself, "What a depraved woman she is. What chance does she have of making a living doing what she does? How low can a person go? Selling her body! Where is her dignity and self-respect?! What a squandered existence. It would be better if she died!"
Consequences of hidden motivation
This inspiring story points out the consequences of our inner-motivations and self-talk. Inner self-talk has the power to turn a monk into a pros*itu*e and a pros*itu*e into a monk. It isn't the outer garments that count.
In the company of the young woman, the monk lost all peace of mind, whilst the young woman experienced a peace of mind she had never imagined possible. What a turn of events! The prostitute, not the monk, was the one who tapped into true meditation power.
Where did the true power come from, despite the fact that the monk and the prostitute were major influences in each other's lives? What was the true cause of the monk's anguish and the woman's tranquilly? It was their inner self-talk that was at the root of the problem in each case.
In the presence of the monk, the young woman's inner monologue was pure and unselfish. In the presence of the woman, the monk's inner-talk was polluted and severely disturbed.
And each of them had to deal with the immediate implications of their self-talk. The woman grew extremely calm, whereas the monk became extremely upset. Their self-talk had resulted in this.
While mentally snooping into other peoples lives, making judgements about the way they live, you lose what God has pointed out in your life, the peace He has to give you. How often have you found yourself mentally snooping and realized your "peace" has left you? It is not those around you that caused this, it is the mental snooping you did that did it.
2 Corinthians 11:3
But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
Philippians 4:8
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
A prostitute and a monk formerly lived in an ancient Japanese city. They had never met before. They didn't even know each other. Nonetheless, each of them was profoundly inspired by the other. Their lives were inextricably linked.
Every evening, on her way to earn a night's wage, the prostitute would pass by the Buddhist temple where this monk lived. Every evening, the young monk would sit outside in the temple garden and meditate.
As she walked through the monastery, the young prostitute would notice the monk seated in meditation and thought to herself, "What a remarkable young man. What a noble existence he leads. Such a pure existence, free of the world's problems and concerns. What a rare and fantastic find!"
These thoughts sustained the young woman and gave her strength to endure her life.
Just to know that someone was leading such a pure life gave her both hope and encouragement, even though she knew that such purity could never be her own. She always felt blessed just walking by the temple and being in the presence of such sacred energy.
Despite claiming to be in profound meditation, the monk couldn't help but notice the woman.
As the young woman strolled by the temple every evening, the monk became preoccupied and thought to himself, "What a depraved woman she is. What chance does she have of making a living doing what she does? How low can a person go? Selling her body! Where is her dignity and self-respect?! What a squandered existence. It would be better if she died!"
Consequences of hidden motivation
This inspiring story points out the consequences of our inner-motivations and self-talk. Inner self-talk has the power to turn a monk into a pros*itu*e and a pros*itu*e into a monk. It isn't the outer garments that count.
In the company of the young woman, the monk lost all peace of mind, whilst the young woman experienced a peace of mind she had never imagined possible. What a turn of events! The prostitute, not the monk, was the one who tapped into true meditation power.
Where did the true power come from, despite the fact that the monk and the prostitute were major influences in each other's lives? What was the true cause of the monk's anguish and the woman's tranquilly? It was their inner self-talk that was at the root of the problem in each case.
In the presence of the monk, the young woman's inner monologue was pure and unselfish. In the presence of the woman, the monk's inner-talk was polluted and severely disturbed.
And each of them had to deal with the immediate implications of their self-talk. The woman grew extremely calm, whereas the monk became extremely upset. Their self-talk had resulted in this.
While mentally snooping into other peoples lives, making judgements about the way they live, you lose what God has pointed out in your life, the peace He has to give you. How often have you found yourself mentally snooping and realized your "peace" has left you? It is not those around you that caused this, it is the mental snooping you did that did it.
2 Corinthians 11:3
But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
Philippians 4:8
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
