Photo by Jimmy Stone

One day, a little lamb found a hole in the wall and crawled out through it. It wandered around the hills and the meadows but a wolf spotted it and started to chase it around. The lamb ran for its life but the wolf was fast and hungry and was gaining on the lamb.

Suddenly there was a loud crack as the shepherd’s club hit the wolf squarely on its skull. The shepherd picked up the lamb and carried it back home, whispering to it gently along the way. He put the lamb back in the pen.

His neighbors heard about the incident and urged him to patch up the hole in the wall.

But despite their urgings, the shepherd decided to keep the hole right where it was.

Photo by Axle

He whispered to his seatmate (who happened to be God in disguise), “Look at all these people sleeping. They shouldn’t be disrespecting the Lord like that.”

And in that moment, God revealed himself to Tom and whispered in his mind, “I would rather, my son, that you were sleeping like them instead of feeling indignant and self-righteous.”

Photo by Jordan Su

The big fish said, “But, you’re already swimming in it!”

The little fish replied, “Oh no, this is just water. Excuse me while I go find someone else who knows better.”

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Excuse me, but can you tell me where God is?

Photo by Carla S.

The next morning, the disciples came but the master was nowhere to be found. Instead, they saw a small note saying, “Do not try to find me. I have said all that needs to be said to you, and have done all that needs to be done. Now, remember the lessons and go and live your own lives.”

Photo by Kathleen Franklin

The disciples wanted to know the different stages the master had to go through in his quest for enlightenment.

The master said, “Well, in the beginning, I was full of action. I thought enlightenment lay in doing kind and worthy deeds. Then I went through suffering and pain, and I stayed there until I could control my heart and stay unattached to anything. I learned to love, and my passion consumed my very core, burning away the self and all its petty desires. Then, I learned to be silent. In silence, I contemplated the mysteries of life and death and they gave up their secrets to me.”

The master paused to sip some tea.

“But finally,” he continued, “I learned the most precious secret of all.”

“And what is that?” asked the disciples.

“I learned to laugh,” replied the master as he howled with glee.

Books - Photo by Lin Pernille Kristensen

An elderly monk became famous in his town because of the appropriate and wise advice he would give to those who sought his counsel. Even the other monks and the head monk himself would go to him for advice on many matters. They always marveled at his words and the ease with which he seemingly plucked them from the air.

The words would always hit their mark. If someone needed inspiration, he would find it. If another needed brutal frankness, she would get it as well.

The elderly monk got seriously ill one day and the other monks were concerned. What would happen when this holy man was gone? Where would they turn to for advice and counsel? The sick monk inadvertently heard their whispered fears and immediately understood their concern. He called them and said, “I shall record all the wisdom that you need in a book so that when I pass away, you will have something to guide you. But you have to promise to only open it when I am gone. Now, hurry and bring me pen and paper.”

The other monks gave him a thick notebook and a pen so he could spend his waking hours writing and recording his wisdom. For the next few days, the monks who visited would see him sitting up in bed with the notebook open, and they would not stay overly long for fear of disturbing him from his work.

Three weeks after, on a fine Sunday morning, they found him sleeping peacefully in bed, his hands folded over the notebook in his chest. They understood with great sadness that this was the sleep from which no one wakes. The head monk came and reverently lifted the precious notebook from underneath the folded hands. He opened it and to his surprise, found that all the pages were blank except the last one.

And what was written there was this:

“What is in me is also in you.

You are no more than me and I no more than you.

Look within.

Search deep within.

There lies the fount of all wisdom.”

Boy eating chocolate - photo by Blerina Berisha

A mother in a small village had a little boy who absolutely loved chocolates. He would eat too much and too often that the mother feared that it would be bad for him. She approached the village elder and said, “Elder, I have a problem. My boy eats a lot of chocolate and I am afraid it will harm him. Could you please tell him to stop eating chocolate?”

The elder said, “I can help you, but give me some time. Then I will go to your house and talk to your boy.”

A day passed, then two, then three – but the elder did not come.

A week passed, then two, then three – and finally, the elder came to the house. He called the boy, looked him straight in the eye and said, “You must stop eating chocolate. It is not good for your health.” He spoke with such authority and conviction that the boy promised he would never touch chocolate again.

The mother thanked the elder, but could not help saying, “Elder, I am grateful that you came to help me. But why did it take you three weeks to come and tell my boy to stop eating chocolates?”

The elder replied, “It is very simple. Three weeks ago, I had not yet stopped eating chocolates.”

Photo by Jeremy Keith

The master heard that a doctor of theology had come to visit.

“A doctor of what? Theology?” said the master feigning amazement. “Now that sounds like a very serious disease.”

Peace - Photo by Ragnar Jensen

One day, the master walked past a Christian church where the preacher was denouncing Islam.

Later, he passed by an Islamic mosque where the imam was denouncing Judaism.

Still later, he passed a Jewish temple where the rabbi was denouncing Christianity.

“Ah,” sighed the master to his disciples, “If only these religious idiots would practice the love, acceptance and tolerance they all preach, there would be peace and no need of any religion.”

Meditation - Photo by Vaticanus

One day, the master and his disciples sat in silent meditation in the monastery.

Suddenly, a loud clatter rang through the halls as the cook’s assistant tripped and dropped a number of empty pans he was bringing to the kitchen.

The disciples were all disturbed from their meditation and expressed their irritation by muttering and frowning. But when they looked at the master, he seemed as relaxed and calm as ever.

“How could you maintain your silence and meditation amidst the noise a while ago?” asked a few disciples later.

The master replied, “You must understand, my friends, that silence is not the absence of sound. Silence is the absence of self.”