Meaning of peace
In ancient times, there lived a good king who was obsessed with the desire to find the real meaning of peace. “What exactly is peace? Where and how can we find it? And when we get it, what should we do with it?” he asked everyone he met. Courtiers and advisors from his kingdom were challenged to answer his questions, and he even offered a bag of gold as a reward.
Many tried, but none could give him a satisfactory answer about what peace really is, how to find it, and what to do with it. At last someone suggested that the king ought to consult a well known sage, a wise woman who lived deep inside the forest.
"She is an old woman and known to be very wise; people from all over seek her advice," the king was told, "… so if anyone can answer your questions, she can."
The king called for the old woman and posed the eternal question. Without a word, she went into the kitchen and brought back single grain of wheat to the king. "In this,” she declared, gently placing placed the grain of wheat in the king's outstretched palm, “you will find the answer to all these questions."
The king, puzzled but unwilling to admit his ignorance, locked the precious grain in a beautiful little gold box and placed the box in his strong safe. Each morning on waking, the king would unlock the safe, open the golden box and look at the grain, as if to find the answers to his questions as the wise woman had assured him. But he found nothing.
Many weeks later the king sent for the old woman again and hesitantly admitted how he went through the same ritual every day. "Since you gave me this grain, I have been looking for an answer every single morning, but I find absolutely nothing."
The sage gently explained: "It is really quite simple. Just as this grain contains nourishment for the body, peace holds nourishment for the soul.”
“But,” she added, “There is more.” Gently she went on to explain: “If you keep this grain locked up in a golden box, however precious and exquisite, it will eventually perish without providing any nourishment and without multiplying. However, if it is allowed to interact with the elements - light, water, air, soil - it will flourish, multiply and soon you will have a whole field of wheat which will nourish not only you but so many others.
This is the meaning of peace. It must be shared to nourish your soul and the souls of others; it must multiply and spread by interacting with all people."
In ancient times, there lived a good king who was obsessed with the desire to find the real meaning of peace. “What exactly is peace? Where and how can we find it? And when we get it, what should we do with it?” he asked everyone he met. Courtiers and advisors from his kingdom were challenged to answer his questions, and he even offered a bag of gold as a reward.
Many tried, but none could give him a satisfactory answer about what peace really is, how to find it, and what to do with it. At last someone suggested that the king ought to consult a well known sage, a wise woman who lived deep inside the forest.
"She is an old woman and known to be very wise; people from all over seek her advice," the king was told, "… so if anyone can answer your questions, she can."
The king called for the old woman and posed the eternal question. Without a word, she went into the kitchen and brought back single grain of wheat to the king. "In this,” she declared, gently placing placed the grain of wheat in the king's outstretched palm, “you will find the answer to all these questions."
The king, puzzled but unwilling to admit his ignorance, locked the precious grain in a beautiful little gold box and placed the box in his strong safe. Each morning on waking, the king would unlock the safe, open the golden box and look at the grain, as if to find the answers to his questions as the wise woman had assured him. But he found nothing.
Many weeks later the king sent for the old woman again and hesitantly admitted how he went through the same ritual every day. "Since you gave me this grain, I have been looking for an answer every single morning, but I find absolutely nothing."
The sage gently explained: "It is really quite simple. Just as this grain contains nourishment for the body, peace holds nourishment for the soul.”
“But,” she added, “There is more.” Gently she went on to explain: “If you keep this grain locked up in a golden box, however precious and exquisite, it will eventually perish without providing any nourishment and without multiplying. However, if it is allowed to interact with the elements - light, water, air, soil - it will flourish, multiply and soon you will have a whole field of wheat which will nourish not only you but so many others.
This is the meaning of peace. It must be shared to nourish your soul and the souls of others; it must multiply and spread by interacting with all people."
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