Once upon a time, there was a rich merchant who had all the materialistic possessions of the world, his only trouble was the severe eye pain the used keep him on his toes. He consulted countless eye specialists but no one could really diagnose his trouble. He even went abroad to get the treatment with a hope to get rid the severe pain but it was useless.
A few days later, one of his employees told him about a charismatic Buddhist monk who was visiting the town. He told him that the monk had magical healing powers and would stay in the town only for a few days. The merchant was happy to hear that since he wanted to get rid of the pain at any cost.
When the Buddhist monk came to the town, the merchant invited him to his house but the monk denied and said that the merchant must come himself to get the treatment. The next day the merchant went to meet the monk and told him about his trouble.
The merchant said,” I have all the materialist possession of the world. If you help me get rid of this severe pain, I would give you a lot of money and gold as a gift.”
The monk laughed and said,” I do not accept anything as a gift. However, I will help you get rid of the eye trouble. Make sure you look only at green color since all other colors are harmful for your eyes. I will visit you after one month.”
The merchant was surprised to hear about such a strange treatment but was ready to do anything to cure his trouble. He thanked the monk and went back to his house. The moment he stepped into his house, he ordered his servants to get barrels of green paint and spend lavishly to color everything green. There was not even a single object, which was not green. The merchant was feeling much relieved ever since he took monk’s advice. He started waiting eagerly for the monk to thank him.
A month later, when the monk came to see the merchant he was surprised to see that everything was painted green. The moment the monk was about to step into merchant’s room, his servants came along with a bucket of green color and poured it on him. Monk started laughing and went inside the room. The merchant was happy to see him. He touched his feet to convey his regards.
The monk said, “Why did you paint everything green? You could have bought green spectacles and saved yourself a lot of trouble. You must change your perspective to look at the world since you can never have everything your way.”
The merchant was speechless, as he had never given it a serious thought.
You cannot change your life as it will be always be full or troubles but you can certainly change the way you react back. Take it easy and live life as it comes.
