• The king’s humility

    One day, a wise old man came to visit a king. He had to wait for a long time because the king was very busy. Finally, the king said he could come…

  • Who’s packing your parachute?

    Charles Plumb was a US Navy jet pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Charles ejected and parachuted into enemy hands. He was captured…

  • The saviour

    Once there lived a village of creatures along the bottom of a great crystal river. The current of the river swept silently over them all – young and old, rich and poor,…

  • Worse than a clown

    There was a young monk in China who was a very serious practitioner of the Dharma. Once, this monk came across something he did not understand, so he went to ask the…

  • Serving others

    A Sufi story tells of a man who prayed continually for the awareness to succeed in life. Then one night he dreamt of going into the forest to attain understanding. The next…

  • In your hands

    A young man caught a small bird and held it behind his back. He then asked, “Master, is the bird I hold in my hands alive or dead?” The boy thought this…

  • The order of things

    A rich man asked a Zen master to write something down that could ensure the prosperity of his family for years to come. It would be something that the family could cherish…

  • Faith

    Once there was a drought-hit village. There were absolutely no rains for three to four years. The villagers, who were solely dependent on agriculture for their livelihood, were almost starving to death.…