She Laid Down Her Cross
A woman, overwhelmed by the pain in her life, went before God to complain
She told God that the cross she was bearing was too heavy and could He give her a different cross to bear. God said, "My dear child, of course you can have a different cross. Put down the one you have," and he gestured to a huge field filled with crosses of all shapes and sizes, and that she should pick a new one.
She spent several weeks going through the whole field testing one cross after another. Finally, feeling a cross to be the correct one for her, she took it up. She realized that she had inadvertently picked up the same cross that she had put down.
Told to Paul Levy by his teacher, Jagna
God’s Banquet
God set out a banquet in Hell and a banquet in Heaven.
All the people in Hell sit around the table, a wonderful spread of food before them. Likewise in Heaven those souls also sit around the table together with a wonderful spread of food.
In Heaven the souls are well nourished and in Hell the souls are starving even though there is plenty of food. The reason for this is that God gave everyone, a long spoon. The souls in Hell were not able to feed themselves because the spoon was longer than their arm. In Heaven on the other hand the souls fed each other.
As they say, "No good deed goes unpunished." The reason for this is that to truly help in the world is to be in a position that has ben earned.
When we find ourselves submerged in our own conditioning (good and bad), then whatever we do in the world will be a mixture of helpful and harmful. Through inner work, an individual becomes capable of helping, and so the universe grants this power. Before helping others, we must first work on ourselves.
Told to Paul Levy by his teacher, Jagna
A Falling Man
A man fell from the top of a 100-story building. At the 50th floor another man stuck his head out of the window and asked the falling man how he was doing. The man said he was doing fine so far.
Told to Paul Levy by his teacher, Jagna
Fighting Squashes
There was a room full of squashes, all fighting with each other and causing tremendous turmoil. The Zen master came into the room and instructed all of the squashes to sit and meditate. They sat down, becoming quiet and still. After a while the Zen Master told them to touch the top of their heads, which they did. It was then they knew that there was a vine connecting all of them together. They were all, in fact, brothers and sisters.
Told by a Zen Master