A monk decided to meditate alone, away from his monastery. He took his boat out to the middle of the lake, moored it there, closed his eyes, and began his meditation.
After a few hours of undisturbed silence, he suddenly felt the bump of another boat colliding with his own. With his eyes still closed, he felt his anger rising. Who would dare to interrupt his meditation on this vast, empty lake?
He opened his eyes, ready to shout at the careless boatman who had disturbed him. But when he looked, he saw that the boat that had hit him was completely empty. It had simply become untethered and drifted on the wind, eventually bumping into his boat.
At that moment, the monk achieved a profound realization. His anger vanished instantly. Who was there to be angry at? There was no one in the boat; it was just the wind and the water.
From that day on, whenever someone offended him, insulted him, or made him angry, he simply reminded himself: “The other boat is also empty.”
The Lesson
Our anger is almost always a reaction to our own ego and assumptions about other people’s intentions. We get angry because we feel someone has intentionally slighted us. But in reality, people are often just drifting along, pushed by the winds of their own ignorance, stress, and circumstances.
When we realize that the people who hurt us are often just “empty boats” acting out of their own suffering, our anger naturally turns into compassion.
नेपाली अनुवाद
एक भिक्षुले आफ्नो गुम्बाबाट टाढा, एक्लै ध्यान गर्ने निर्णय गरे। उनले आफ्नो डुङ्गालाई तालको बीचमा लगे, त्यहाँ बाँधे, आँखा बन्द गरे, र आफ्नो ध्यान सुरु गरे।
केही घण्टाको शान्त ध्यान पछि, उनले अचानक अर्को डुङ्गा आफ्नो डुङ्गासँग ठोक्किएको महसुस गरे। आँखा बन्द नै राखेर, उनले आफ्नो रिस उठिरहेको महसुस गरे। यो विशाल, खाली तालमा उनको ध्यानमा बाधा पुर्याउने साहस कसले गर्यो?
उनी आँखा खोलेर आफूलाई बाधा पुर्याउने त्यो लापरवाह डुङ्गा चलाउनेलाई कराउन तयार भए। तर जब उनले हेरे, उनले देखे कि उनीसँग ठोक्किएको डुङ्गा पूरै खाली थियो। त्यो केवल डोरी फुस्केर हावासँगै बग्दै आएर उनको डुङ्गासँग ठोक्किएको थियो।
त्यस क्षणमा, भिक्षुले एक गहिरो ज्ञान प्राप्त गरे। उनको रिस तत्कालै गायब भयो। त्यहाँ रिसाउनुपर्ने को थियो र? डुङ्गामा कोही थिएन; यो केवल हावा र पानी थियो।
त्यस दिनदेखि, जब कसैले उनलाई दुःखी बनाउँथ्यो, अपमान गर्थ्यो, वा रिस उठाउँथ्यो, उनी आफैंलाई सम्झाउँथे: “अर्को डुङ्गा पनि खाली छ।”
शिक्षा
हाम्रो रिस लगभग सधैं हाम्रो आफ्नै अहंकार र अन्य मानिसहरूको इरादाहरूको बारेमा हाम्रो अनुमानप्रतिको प्रतिक्रिया हो। हामी रिसाउँछौं किनभने हामीलाई लाग्छ कि कसैले जानाजानी हाम्रो अपमान गरेको छ। तर वास्तवमा, मानिसहरू अक्सर आफ्नै अज्ञानता, तनाव, र परिस्थितिहरूको हावाले धकेलिएर बगिरहेका हुन्छन्।
जब हामीले महसुस गर्छौं कि हामीलाई चोट पुर्याउने मानिसहरू प्रायः केवल “खाली डुङ्गा” हुन् जसले आफ्नै दुःखको कारणले काम गरिरहेका छन्, हाम्रो रिस स्वाभाविक रूपमा करुणामा परिणत हुन्छ।