Backpack…. Let’s offload it..

There is an invisible backpack on our shoulders, we all carry it knowingly or unknowingly.

I spend much time on Facebook often scrolling down feeds,posts,memes and go through what others has to say, I often choose to react, comment those posts appeals to me. I don't follow the book nor the drawn lines, by nature I am inquisitive and rational (Not that much though).

My rationality has taken me to places, ideas and various new things including compartive study of religious beliefs, my personal take with God is my own business and I am not going to discuss it here in this very moment.

Well, I was talking about a backpack,we all carry a backpack, so what is that?

Well, read this zen story to find . I like Zen and it’s methods, they don’t do unnecessary fucks, they sort it with intellect and intelligence.

There is a very popular Zen story about the two monks and a young woman.

Once there were two Buddhist monks, one fine day they were walking through the forest towards their Hermitage, on their way they would cross a river flowing through their path, that day a beautiful young woman was sitting at the bank of the river. She did not know how to swim and requested the two monks to carry her on their back to the other side of the river.

Buddhist monks take a vow of celibacy. They are not supposed to even look at women, let alone carry them on their backs to the other side! The one of the monk politely refused. On the other hand, another monk put the woman on his back, swam across the river, and dropped her safely to the other bank of the river – without saying a word. The former monk was shocked at the behavior of his fellow monk. He could not stop thinking about how his fellow monk had broken his vows by touching a woman.

They kept walking through the forest for an hour or so without a word between them. At last, the former one could not resist and said to his fellow monk – “Can I ask you a question?”.

The monk said, “Sure go ahead.” The junior monk said – “I have been thinking about what you did at the river”. The other monk said – “What did I do?” The former monk said – “you broke your vows to celibacy when you touched the woman while carrying her across the river and dropping her on the other side of the river.”

On listening this the monk laughed and said – “I dropped the woman on the bank of the river a long time ago! However, it seems that you are still carrying her around in your head!”.

This Zen story has a powerful message.

We carry a backpack having couple past and future.

We carry them on our shoulders, ever time.

Even though we know that past can’t be undone,and the future yet to come might have different plans from us,but we still choose to carry the backpack and the past keeps playing in background, future keeps lurking from the thoughts,we keep the couple playing and that backpack becomes heavier by each passing day and one day the couple starts to screw up our inner peace and happiness.

Not two days are alike nor our lives are, there may be sunny days, cloudy days, Cold days, rainy days, but the fact remains is what we select to wear accordingly.

Life is like shopping mall, we can choose what to buy, or simply we can stroll and sip drink of choice,

For me it is always coffee , sometimes it’s whiskey though…