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| | | Book Name: The Dhammapada - The Way of the Buddha, Vol 4 | Previous Next | |
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go to paradise, at least not to YOUR paradise, but you are bent upon sending them to paradise -- your compassion is such that you are ready to kill them or be killed!
A missionary was teaching in a small school and he was saying that every Christian child should make it a point that at least one act of public service should be done per week. One small boy asked, "For example, what kind of things should we do?"
The missionary gave a few examples. He said, "For example, some old woman wants to cross the street and the traffic is too much -- hold her hand, help her to cross the street." And so on, so forth.
Next Sunday he inquired, "How many of you did some act of public service?"
Three boys -- the strongest and the biggest in the class -- stood up. They said, "We did one act of public service."
The missionary was very happy. "So you say...." He asked the first boy, "What did you do?"
He said, "I helped an old woman, a very old woman, to cross the street."
He patted the boy and he said, "You are a good boy. Go on doing such good acts." He asked the next boy, "What did you do?"
He said, "I also helped a very old woman to cross the street."
The missionary was a little puzzled that both could find two very old women, but there are many old women -- it is possible. He patted the second boy also, but not so heartily. With a little suspicion he said, "Good. Go on doing."
Then he asked the third.
The third said, "I also helped a very very old woman to cross the street."
Now it was too much! Such a coincidence can't be, that three very very old women wanted to cross the street. And he asked, "What day, what time?" It was the same day and the same time and the same street! So he said, "You please explain -- how could you find three such very very old women?"
They said, "They were not three -- it was only one woman, very very old. We all three helped her."
He said, "That too is good, but were three persons needed?"
They said, "Three? Although she was old, she made so much fuss because she never wanted to go to the other side! But we DID manage. When one has to do some public
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