N C Ramaa on Pitara Kids Network

Qui Jun and the Arrogant Monk

Mon, 12 Nov 2001 06:09:05 +0000

There once lived a monk called Shan, in a village in China. He had earned a great name for himself. But he was very arrogant.

Qui Jun heard of his arrogance and wanted to teach the monk a lesson. He went to meet Shan who neither greeted him nor acknowledged his presence.

Just then a servant of the monk came with a message: “The son of an army officer is here to see you.”

The monk said, “I will go and greet him.”

Silence is Golden

Wed, 23 May 2001 15:06:07 +0000

Once upon a time, a Chinese student once went to his teacher.

He asked his teacher a question: “Sir, is there any good in talking a lot?”

The teacher replied: “Toads and frogs croak night and day, but no one pays any attention to them. But the cock crows at a certain time of night and wakes up everyone.”

The teacher smiled at his student and said, “This proves that no good is achieved by talking a lot. What is important is to say the right thing at the right time.”

Modesty Pays

Tue, 26 Jun 2001 00:36:32 +0000

There once lived a proud driver in Qi, a state in China. He was the driver of the Prime Minister of the state. One day the Prime Minister happened to drive through the street where the driver lived with his wife. Some neighbour’s saw him drive the Prime Minister and were excited.

One of the neighbours ran to the driver’s home and said to driver’s wife-“Quick! See who is driving the Prime Minister? Your husband.”

The Instructor

Sun, 24 Jun 2001 18:06:12 +0000

A young man wanted to learn the art of sword fighting. He went to the greatest instructor in the land and said, “Please give me admission and teach me sword fighting.”

The instructor gladly accepted him a student and said, “Young man you can stay with me and learn this art.”

In the days that followed the instructor gave him many odd chores to perform. The chores were sweeping the floors, cutting vegetables, cooking and the like. But there was no mention of the sword or the art of fighting with it.

Learning to Act

Wed, 21 Mar 2001 22:41:20 +0000

There once lived a brilliant student. He was on a quest to acquire more
and more knowledge. Then he heard of a great Zen teacher to whom he travelled long to meet.

On arriving at the teacher’s feet, he said, “Master teach me.”

The Zen master received the student with a smile. He inquired about him. He asked in detail all that the student had learnt till then.

Later, he asked his assistant to get tea for the two of them. A big pot of tea with two cups and saucers was brought before the master. The student volunteered to serve the tea. The master brushed aside his offer with a smile.