The Shattered Orchid - China DOS Union Forum - China DOS Union

The Shattered Orchid

There was a Chan master who was extremely fond of orchids. In the spare time left over from spreading the Dharma and giving sermons, he spent a great deal of time growing orchids. One day, he had to go traveling for a while, and before leaving he instructed his disciples to take good care of the orchids in the temple. During that time, the disciples always tended the orchids carefully, but one day while watering them, they accidentally knocked over the orchid stand. All the flowerpots were smashed, and the orchids were scattered all over the ground. The disciples were all terrified because of this, and planned to apologize to the master and accept punishment after he returned.

When the Chan master came back and learned of the matter, he summoned the disciples. Not only did he not blame them, he instead said: “I grow orchids, first, in the hope of offering them to the Buddha, and second, to beautify the temple surroundings. I do not grow orchids for the sake of getting angry.”

The Chan master said it well: “I do not grow orchids for the sake of getting angry.” And the reason the Chan master could take it so calmly was that although he liked orchids, in his heart he had no attachment to orchids. Therefore, the gain or loss of the orchids did not affect the joy or anger in his heart. Likewise, in daily life, we worry about too much, we care too much about gain and loss, and so our emotions rise and fall, and we are unhappy. When we are angry, if we can think a little more: “I do not work for the sake of getting angry.” “I do not teach for the sake of getting angry.” “I do not make friends for the sake of getting angry.” “I do not bear and raise children for the sake of getting angry.” Then we can open up another kind of peace and calm for our troubled state of mind.

In the process of pursuing dreams, when you occasionally look back, have you forgotten something?

May your efforts bring you the best rewards every day!

Floor1　Wengier	Posted 2003-05-30 00:00
系统支持　Posts 10,521　Credits 27,736
The Shattered Orchid There was a Chan master who was extremely fond of orchids. In the spare time left over from spreading the Dharma and giving sermons, he spent a great deal of time growing orchids. One day, he had to go traveling for a while, and before leaving he instructed his disciples to take good care of the orchids in the temple. During that time, the disciples always tended the orchids carefully, but one day while watering them, they accidentally knocked over the orchid stand. All the flowerpots were smashed, and the orchids were scattered all over the ground. The disciples were all terrified because of this, and planned to apologize to the master and accept punishment after he returned. When the Chan master came back and learned of the matter, he summoned the disciples. Not only did he not blame them, he instead said: “I grow orchids, first, in the hope of offering them to the Buddha, and second, to beautify the temple surroundings. I do not grow orchids for the sake of getting angry.” The Chan master said it well: “I do not grow orchids for the sake of getting angry.” And the reason the Chan master could take it so calmly was that although he liked orchids, in his heart he had no attachment to orchids. Therefore, the gain or loss of the orchids did not affect the joy or anger in his heart. Likewise, in daily life, we worry about too much, we care too much about gain and loss, and so our emotions rise and fall, and we are unhappy. When we are angry, if we can think a little more: “I do not work for the sake of getting angry.” “I do not teach for the sake of getting angry.” “I do not make friends for the sake of getting angry.” “I do not bear and raise children for the sake of getting angry.” Then we can open up another kind of peace and calm for our troubled state of mind. In the process of pursuing dreams, when you occasionally look back, have you forgotten something? May your efforts bring you the best rewards every day!

Floor2　李小龙	Posted 2003-06-05 00:00
高级用户　Posts 223　Credits 778
Empty idealist philosophy. There simply are no people in this world with such high enlightenment. Just like “not pleased by external gains, not saddened by personal losses,” it is forever something ordinary people strive for. But also forever something they cannot attain. Why does a grown man keep posting stuff like this? Flowers, grass, fate and all that—they're all decadent literature.

Floor3　toccy	Posted 2003-08-06 00:00
初级用户　Posts 26　Credits 179
I like orchids. Although the orchid I just bought, I still don't really know how to take care of yet. I like the literature section. The works here, whether pasted in or original, are mostly quite good. I always imagined a DOS master would definitely be old-fashioned... didn't expect...

Floor4　如是大师	Posted 2003-08-06 00:00
元老会员　Posts 3,351　Credits 9,654　From 湖北
You're welcome to post some works too

Floor5　笨笨熊	Posted 2003-08-07 00:00
初级用户　Posts 19　Credits 180
*The following is quoted from Master Rushi on 2003-8-6 16:58:26:* You're welcome to post some works too You’re all experts, how would I dare show off my poor skill before masters!

Floor6　柳五	Posted 2003-08-17 00:00
初级用户　Posts 31　Credits 184
Who said that? Don't be afraid of them. They're paper tigers... haha~~~~~~~~~

Floor7　cn_archer	Posted 2003-08-17 00:00
元老会员　Posts 991　Credits 2,903　From 福建省
I'm a dummy, I can only Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V……

Floor8　柳五	Posted 2003-08-18 00:00
初级用户　Posts 31　Credits 184
Haha. I'll learn too... saves effort...

Floor9　红袖添乱	Posted 2003-08-20 00:00
初级用户　Posts 19　Credits 155
Heh

Floor10　Michael	Posted 2005-08-21 00:58
钻石会员　Posts 3,041　Credits 10,056
Everybody calm down a bit, we’re not getting angry for the sake of getting angry either. Right? Can't help it!

Floor11　coolweather	Posted 2005-09-23 15:24
初级用户　Posts 1　Credits 59
Quite enlightening!

Floor12　firefoxs	Posted 2005-10-27 10:41
新手上路　Posts 19　Credits 17
Mm, wait, let me think about it some more first............