Friendship - A Zen Story
A disciple asked his master. "How do we cultivate good friendship?"
The master said:
Good friendship is like a flower bed. To cultivate great flowers, you need to depend on Love and Nature.
There was a man who decided to grow beautiful flowers in a patch in his yard. He cleaned the soil, enriched it with manure ans planted great seeds. He did this with love and depended on Nature to do her bit.
But even as the seeds started sprouting, the man mistook them for weeds. He started pouring poisonous fertilisers and started plucking out the sprouts.
Soon he was left with a poisoned and bare yard.
What we call weeds is judging and hurting people, not allowing Nature to do her bit. The poison we pour is called gossip. That kills friendships even before they sprout.
Grow the flowers of friendship with Love and Trust in Nature.
