The story titled ‘become a lake’ from Hindu religion was
told by Mark Nepo. The gist of the story is to be broaden your mind when you
are suffering.
An aging master grew tired of his apprentice complaining,
and so, one morning, sent him for some salt. When the apprentice returned, the
master instructed the unhappy young man to put a handful of salt in a glass of
water and then to drink it. "How does it taste?" the master asked.
"Bitter" spit the apprentice.
The master chuckled and then asked the young man to take the
same handful of salt and put it in the lake. The two walked in silence to the
nearby lake, and once the apprentice swirled his handful of salt in the water,
the old man said, "Now drink from the lake."
As the water dripped down the young man's chin, the master
asked, "How does it taste?"
"Fresh," remarked the
apprentice.
"Do you taste the salt?" asked the master.
"No," said the young man.
At this, the master sat beside this serious young man who so
reminded him of himself and took his hands, offering, "The pain of life is
pure salt; no more, no less. The amount of pain in life remains the same,
exactly the same. But the amount of bitterness we taste depends on the
container we put the pain in."
So when you are in pain, the only thing you can do is to
enlarge your sense of things .... stop being a glass. Become a lake.