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There were two brothers who grew up together, but each had different aspirations in life. After their parents had passed on, the younger brother left home to become a spiritual cultivator in pursuit of the truth of life, leaving the family business to his elder brother.
After cultivating diligently for a few years, the younger brother came to realize that everything in life is subject to impermanence. He understood that fame and material wealth were all illusory and that it was important for one to do good and sow blessings in a timely manner.
He hoped his elder brother could realize that too, so he returned to his hometown and shared his realizations with the latter, who had his hands full with business undertakings every day. His brother told him: “You have cultivated well, and what you have said makes a lot of sense, but I still have many responsibilities and cannot put them down.”
The younger brother said, “Your time is in your own hands, you should set aside some time to learn about life’s truths.”
The elder one declined, saying that he had to personally attend to many matters in his expansive business, and did not have time to spare. Hearing this, his younger brother tried to persuade him thus: “Even if you don’t have time, you can still contribute by giving money to help the needy.”
“Wait till I’m economically more stable and earning much more financially, then I’ll donate.”
No matter how the younger brother tried to persuade his elder brother, the latter would always come up with the same excuses. As the elder brother was very stubborn, there was nothing his younger brother could do to change him. Disheartened and disappointed, the younger brother left his hometown to continue his spiritual practice.
Several years later, the younger brother received news that his elder brother had passed away. Despite his grief, the younger brother quickly entered into a deep meditative state, seeking to locate the whereabouts of his brother.
Looking into the heaven and human realms, he did not perceive his brother; neither did the realms of hell and hungry ghosts bear a trace of him. Finally, he discovered that his brother had taken rebirth in the animal realm as an ox. With a heavy heart, he made haste to reach his hometown and found the ox that was previously his brother.
He saw the ox wearing a plough, hard at work in the marshy fields. Tired out from the laborious task and subject to continual whippings from its master, the ox struggled with every step it took. Wearing a look of great suffering, it looked as if it yearned to say that it could no longer carry on.
Witnessing the suffering of the ox, the younger brother could not help but sigh sadly. He told the ox: “When one does not make timely efforts to cultivate spiritually and toils his whole life away pursuing worldly gains, one ends up heavily bounded by the chains of one’s negative karma. Hopefully you can contemplate this and be free of this body soon.”
The ox seemed to understand the cultivator’s words. It suddenly thrashed about, bellowing in sorrow as it did so. Its whole body then became weak and limp, and it fell dead to the ground.
The other farmers, who had seen what happened, crowded around the ox’s owner, curiously asking for an explanation. The ox’s owner could not explain it either, saying only that he saw a cultivator mumbling to the ox before it bellowed loudly and then died.
The other farmers, suspecting that the cultivator had employed sorcery on the ox, surrounded him closely. The cultivator then explained, “This ox used to be my brother in its past life. I had often advised him to cultivate himself spiritually and sow blessings, but he put it off, saying that he was too preoccupied with his business. But life is transient; after he passed away, he took rebirth as an ox. Even if one is reborn as an ox, one must still put one’s time into good use, working to sow blessings when one is strong and able, and settling down to cultivate spiritually when there is time.” Hearing him, the farmers seemed to gain some realizations.
Impermanence is ever-present in life. Hence, in everything we do, we must seize the moment and do it in a timely manner. If we do not get our priorities right in life (and do as we please,) we will be trapped by our desires and afflictions, and cannot be free.
Source: Tzu Chi Taiwan website
Extracted from “tan gu shuo jin”《谈古说今》, a compilation of stories told by Master Cheng Yen
Translated by the Tzu Chi Singapore translation team
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