The tree In a beautiful forest stood a young tree, directly at the brook it struck deep roots, it had enough sun, in front of it were bushes, which protected it from the wind. A hiker passed by and stopped right here for a rest. The man was in a bad mood, had lost his job, life was hard for him. He looked at the healthy young tree, his mood became even worse, he became "jealous" of the tree that had such good conditions, occupied such a wonderful place; he, on the other hand, was disadvantaged by "fate". What a strange feeling he thought to himself, envy of a young tree! Discontented, the wanderer thought about how he could "harm" the tree, for reasons he himself did not understand, he could not bear the "luck" of the tree. Then he saw a heavy stone on the shore. He took it and placed it in the crown of the tree between the young branches. A feeling of happiness spread through the man, a smile crossed his gloomy face, gloating is just the most beautiful joy. The young tree groaned under the load, the branches bent, but the stone remained well wedged in the crown. The hiker went on his way "satisfied". As a result, the tree quickly drove its roots into the depths, it had to balance the weight in order not to break. Thus, in a very short time, the young tree became a true giant, the stone fell off one day, the tree grew bigger and bigger, it had adapted to the situation, it could even profit from its "misfortune". Years later, the hiker passed by the stream again. When he saw the tree then he could not believe his eyes, the stone lay shaken off under it, the young tree had become a giant, the most beautiful and largest tree of the forest stood now at this place. The former burden had made it strong. ENVY IS THE SINCEREST FORM OF RECOGNITION - WILHELM BUSCH - GERMAN POET - 1832 TO 1908 It is up to us how we deal with "heavy burdens", do we grow or will we break? Buddhists know that everything is already written. What burdens our life holds in store, and how we deal with them, has already been determined. With this certainty, we can deal with the hardships of life, just as the young tree did in the story. We do our best! If our "karma" is already fixed, then we can also act carefree, it comes as it must come. Copyright: https://shaolin-rainer.de (Please also download my app "Buddha-Blog English" from the Apple and Android stores) Please rate us on Apple, Google, or Spotify podcast to help us promote the show