A pot of milk

A fly goes to a pot of milk and asks, “How much can I drink?”

The pot says, “As much as you can.” The fly becomes excited and flutters around the pot, wondering from where to start.

A little while later after a stomach full, she gets attracted by a piece of sweet on the table and flies away to its new desire.

A Buddhist monk stood watching this scene from outside the window, waiting for alms in the ancient city of Lumbini.

As he said, “Bhiksham Dehi (may you give me some alms)” — the lady of the house came out pouring the same milk into his bowl.

And this is what the monk told her, “While looking inside the house, I saw you have many things to eat. I saw a fly around the house. When my desire for the milk rose, the fly went to it and drank it before I could.”

“Lady, thought travels faster than we physically do. When we don’t control them, they contaminate our surroundings.”

Reflecting on my situations this morning, I started to write this story. I added it to ‘Heart Tree Stories for Educators’ to just leave a message: Your child doesn’t only embibe what you say, your child also embibes what you think. Be mindful! Being a parent or a teacher is a greater responsibility. If we can’t work on our ownselves, we can’t work on anyone else.

Story by Venus Upadhayaya