The Gift

Gopal Bhand was once taken to court by a man who claimed that he owned the land on which Gopal's house stood.
Gopal had the documents to prove that he owned the land but he knew that the judge who was to try the case was corrupt and could be bought. Gopal decided to take a gift for the judge.
At the hearing, the complainant stated his case and then taking out a fat wallet from one pocket transferred it to another in a slow and deliberate manner. The judge understood. He looked at Gopal as if to ask him if he could match the offer.
In answer, Gopal patted his own pocket. The judge was pleased to see that it was bulging. He could make out the outlines of two large objects in it and he felt sure they were gold ornaments.
He gave a verdict in Gopal's favour and called him to his chambers. Gopal went round to the judge's chambers and began to thank him for deciding the case in his favour. But the judge cut him short with an impatient gesture of his hand.
"The gift," he snapped. "Give me whatever you have brought for me!"
Gopal took out two large stones from his pocket and gave them to him.

Aesop Fables

Plane Truth

Two travellers, seeking respite from the searing heat of the midday sun, took shelter under a leafy tree.
They soon felt cool and refreshed.
“What sort of tree is this? Does it produce edible fruits?” asked one of the men to the other.
“It’s a plane tree,” said his companion. “Don’t waste your time looking for fruits. It produces neither edible fruits nor good wood. It’s one of the most useless trees around.”
“How can you say that when you’re enjoying my shade at this very moment?” snapped the tree.

Moral: Often, a person’s worst critics are those who have benefited the most from him.


Last Boast

A fir tree said boastingly to the bramble bush growing in its shade: “You are useless. Nobody wants you. I am everywhere used for roofs and houses. Men can’t do without me.”
“You’re so right,” said the bramble. “Here’s a man coming to you with an axe, right now. Farewell.”

Moral: Pride comes before a fall.



Timidity

Rabbits are among the most timid of animals.
The rabbits of a colony, once had a meeting to discuss this trait of theirs. They came to the conclusion that as their timidity would never leave them, they were doomed to a miserable existence and it would be better to drown themselves and end their misery once and for all.
Accordingly, they began to move towards a large lake.
When the frogs in the lake saw the large number of rabbits approaching, they were filled with fear and made for the deepest part of the lake.
Seeing this, the leader of the rabbits stopped and said to his fellow-creatures:
"It is true we are timid, but here are animals more timid than ourselves. There is hope for us yet. Let us go back to our homes."
And that is what they did.

Moral: Just as we are afraid of others, others are afraid of us.


The Ailing Deer

A sick stag was lying in a corner, helpless and weak. He was glad he had collected enough grass to last him through his period of illness. But suddenly, to his dismay, he saw that some friends who had come to see him were helping themselves to the food.
"Please go away," he said. "My illness will not kill me but your greed certainly could."

Moral : Thoughtless friends are more harmful than enemies.


Boar with Foresight

A wild boar was rubbing his tusks against a tree. A fox passing by asked him what he was doing.
"My tusks are my weapons," said the boar. "I'm sharpening them."
"Why waste time sharpening your weapons when there's no danger in sight?" said the fox. "You're being foolish."
Just then a hunter appeared on the scene. Frightened by the boar's sharpened tusks, he turned on the fox instead and shot him dead.

Moral : Be prepared.


The Clever Sheep

One day a wolf cornered a sheep.
"You can't escape, " said the wolf, baring his teeth.
"I know," said the sheep, softly.
"Please grant me a last wish. Sing a song so that I may dance one last time.'
"Certainly,' said the wolf and throwing back his head began to howl.
Hearing him howl the farmer's dogs rushed to the spot and drove him away.

Moral: Don't attempt anything that is beyond your ability.


Monkey Business

A monkey climbed the roof of a house and entertained the people who had gathered below to watch it, with its antics.
After it had gone, an ass who craved popularity climbed the roof and tried to perform the same tricks.
In the process, it dislodged and broke several tiles.
The owner of the house was furious. His servants went up, drove the ass down, and beat it black and blue.

Moral: Actions that suit others may not suit you. Be yourself.



Fox in the Cart

A fox observing a fish cart coming, lay down and pretended to be dead.
The cart man, tempted by the idea of making some money by selling the fox's fur, picked up the animal by its tail and flung it into the back of the cart among the fish.
Then he resumed his journey. The fox ate his fill of the fish and jumped out of the cart. A wolf saw him jumping out and asked him what he had been doing in it. The fox told him and also how he had got into it in the first place.
The wolf ran ahead of the cart and lay down in its path, pretending to be dead. The cart man was delighted to find another animal to sell, but he found the animal too heavy to lift. So he pushed it into a sack, tied the sack to his cart and dragged it away.


Moral: What works for one may not work for another.

Zen Tales

Right Move

The great Zen teacher, Benzei had many pupils. One day, one of them was caught stealing by his fellow-students and they reported him to Benzei. But he took no action against the boy.
A few days later the same boy was again caught stealing. And again Benzei did nothing. This angered the other students who drew up a petition asking for the dismissal of the thief. They threatened to leave en masse if the boy was allowed to stay.

The teacher called a meeting of the students. When they had assembled he said to them: “You are good boys who know what is right and what is wrong. If you leave you will have no trouble in joining some other school. But what about your brother who does not even know the difference between right and wrong? Who will teach him if I don’t? No, I cannot ask him to go even if it means losing all of you.”
Tears coursed down the cheeks of the boy who had stolen. He never stole again and in later life became renowned for his integrity.



Making a Difference

Ryokan was a Zen teacher of repute. One day a fisherman saw him walking on the beach soon after a storm. The storm had washed up thousands of starfish on the shore, and they were beginning to dry up. Soon all of them would be dead. Ryokan was picking up starfish and throwing them into the sea.
The fisherman caught up with the teacher and said, “Surely, you cannot hope to throw all these starfish back into the sea? They will die in their thousands here. I’ve seen it happen before. Your effort will make no difference.”
“It will to this one,” said Ryokan, throwing back another starfish into the sea.



Overcoming Anger

A Zen student said to his teacher, “ Master, I have an ungovernable temper. Help me get rid of it.”
“ You have something very strange,” said the teacher.
“Show it to me.”
“ Right now I cannot show it to you.”
“Why not?"
“ It arises suddenly.”
“ Then it cannot be your own true nature,” said the teacher, “if it were, you would be able to show it to me at any time. Why are you allowing something that is not yours to trouble your life?”
Thereafter whenever the student felt his temper rising he remembered his teacher’s words and
checked his anger. In time, he developed a calm and placid temperament.



Sleepy Teacher

A schoolteacher used to take a short nap every afternoon. When his pupils asked him why he did so, he said that he went to dreamland to meet ancient sages.
One extremely hot day some of the pupils fell asleep in the afternoon. When the school-teacher chided them, they said:
"We went to meet the sages in dreamland."
"What did they say?" demanded the teacher.
"We asked them if a school- teacher came there every afternoon, but they said they had seen no such person."



The End

A young student of Zen happened to break a precious vase belonging to his teacher. When he heard his teacher's footsteps, he quickly held the broken vase behind him. As the teacher walked up to him, he asked, "Why does one die, master?"

"It's natural," said the teacher. "Everything has a beginning and an end. Everything has just so long to live and then has to die."

The student held out the pieces of the broken vase and said, "The time for your vase to die had come."



When Truth Dawned

Ryokan, the Zen teacher, was requested by his sister-in-law to come to her house and talk to her son.

“He does no work, squanders his father’s money in wild parties and is neglecting the estate,” she complained. “If he does not reform, we will be ruined.”
Ryokan went to his brother’s house and met his nephew who was genuinely pleased to see him. The two of them had spent many happy hours together before Ryokan had turned to Zen and entered the monastery. The young man knew why his uncle had come and braced himself for the scolding he was sure he would receive. But Ryokan said not a word in rebuke, the whole day. The next morning when it was time for him to go, he put on his garments and then said to his nephew: “Will you help me tie the thongs of my sandals? My hands shake and I cannot do it.”
His nephew helped him willingly.

“Thank you,” said Ryokan. “A man becomes older and feebler day by day. You remember how strong and robust I used to be?”

“ I do,” said his nephew, thoughtfully. “ I do indeed remember how you used to be.”
It was the moment of truth for him. He suddenly realized that his mother and all those who had looked after him had become old and that it was now his turn to look after them and to take on the responsibilities of the household and the community.
He gave up his dissolute life forever.



A Handful of Answers


A young student of Zen was going to the market to buy vegetables for the monastery where he was studying. On the way he met a student from another monastery.
“Where are you going?” asked the first student.
“Wherever my legs take me,” replied the other.
The first student pondered over the answer as he was sure it had some deep significance. When he returned to the monastery, he reported the conversation to his teacher, who said: “You should have asked him what he would do if he had no legs.”
The next day the student was thrilled to see the same boy coming towards him.
“Where are you going?” he asked and without waiting for a reply continued, “Wherever your legs take you, I suppose. Well, let me ask you . . .”
“You’re mistaken,” interrupted the other boy. “Today I’m going wherever the wind blows.”
This answer so confused the first boy that he could not think of anything to say.
When he reported the matter to his teacher, the old man said: “You should have asked him what he would do if there were no wind.”
Some days later the student saw the boy in the market again and rushed to confront him, confident that this time he would have the last word.
“Where are you going?” he asked. “Wherever your legs take you or wherever the wind blows? Well, let me ask you . . . . ”
“No, no,” interrupted the boy. “Today I’m going to buy vegetables.”

Grilled Rosemary Chicken

Plan ahead for this six-serving chicken dinner because it needs a few hours of marinating time. But trust us, the tangy, low-sodium results are totally worth it.

Tip: To get the most juice from limes, lemons, or oranges, let them stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes before halving them and squeezing out the juice.

Ingredients
* 6 medium skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 3/4 pounds total)
* 1 teaspoon finely shredded lime peel
* 1/2 cup lime juice
* 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 2 teaspoons sugar
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

1. Place chicken breast halves between two pieces of plastic wrap. Using the flat side of a meat mallet, lightly pound to an even 1/2-inch thickness. Place in a large resealable plastic bag set in a shallow dish.

2. For marinade, in a small bowl, stir together lime peel, lime juice, rosemary, oil, sugar, garlic, and salt. Pour over chicken. Seal bag; turn to coat chicken. Marinate in the refrigerator for 1 to 4 hours, turning bag occasionally.

3. Remove chicken from marinade, discarding marinade. Season chicken with pepper. For a charcoal grill, place chicken on the grill rack of an uncovered grill directly over medium coals. Grill uncovered for 10 to 12 minutes or until tender and no longer pink (170 degrees F), turning once halfway through grilling. (For a gas grill, preheat grill. Reduce heat to medium. Place chicken on grill rack over heat. Cover and grill as above.)

Chocolate Layer Cake

Yield: 12 servings

Ingredients:

1+½ cup (340 g) butter, softened
1+2/3 cup (365 g) sugar
6 eggs
2+2/3 cup (300 g) all-purpose flour
About 3/4 cup (120 g) finely ground almonds
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup boiling water

Ingredients for frosting:

6 tablespoons (80 g) butter
7 oz (200 g) semisweet chocolate (40-60% cocoa)
2 eggs (salmonella-free)
7 oz (200 g) icing sugar (confectioner's sugar)


Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg F (Gas mark 4 or 180 deg C).
2. Line two 9 inch (23 cm) cake tins with greaseproof or other non-stick paper and grease the tins.
3. Beat the softened butter with sugar.
4. Add one egg at a time, mix well between each egg.
5. Mix with flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, vanilla extract, and finely ground almonds.
6. Add ½ cup of boiling water and mix well.
7. Transfer to two separate cake tins and bake at 350 degrees just until set in the middle, approximately 30-45 minutes. A wooden pick inserted in center should come out with just a few moist crumbs on it. Do not over-bake!
8. Cool the cakes and cut each in half, horizontally. They are easier to cut if they are kept in a refrigerator for a few hours before cutting.

Frosting:

1. Melt butter and chopped chocolate in a double boiler.
2. Beat the eggs with icing sugar and mix with the chocolate and butter mixture.
3. Use two thirds of the frosting to sandwich the four layers together and coat the cake with the remainder of the frosting.
4. Cool the cake in the fridge to harden the frosting. Place the cake at room temperature 1-2 hours before it is served.

Variations:

1. You may substitute the boiling water with hot coffee or tea.
2. If you want a smaller cake use half the amount of each ingredient and one cake tin. Make then only two layers.
3. For the frosting you must use an egg without salmonella risk. If this is not available, please use a different chocolate frosting.

Pineapple Salsa

Juicy, sweet pineapple minimizes the spicy kick of the jalapeño pepper in this mix-and-serve salsa.

Ingredients

* 1 cup diced fresh pineapple (about 1/4 pineapple)
* 1/2 cup chopped red sweet pepper
* 1/4 cup chopped red onion
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
* 1 fresh serrano or jalapeno chile pepper, seeded and finely chopped
* 1 teaspoon finely shredded lime peel
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* Snipped fresh cilantro (optional)

Directions

In a medium bowl stir together pineapple, sweet pepper, onion, the 2 tablespoons cilantro, serrano pepper, lime peel, and salt. To serve, if desired, sprinkle with additional snipped fresh cilantro. If not serving immediately, store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 24 hours.

Prince Charming

There was a prince who was besotted with his own beauty.If any traveller came to the palace he would ask him:"Have you ever seen anyone as handsome as me?"No one ever had. One day an obsequious traveller said to him: "I don't think there could be anyone in the whole world as good-looking as you. I don't think even a god could be as handsome."
This made the prince very happy and he went around telling everyone that he was more handsome than any god.
One day he had two visitors who identified themselves as gods.
"We have come to see if you are as handsome as you claim," they explained.
"Aren't I?" he asked.
"We visited you earlier in the day when you were asleep," said one of the gods. "You were more handsome then."
"How could my looks decline within a few hours?" said the prince. He turned to his servants.
"Did I look better in the morning?" he enquired.
"You looked the same," said his servants.
"We are gods," said one of the visitors. "We can see what your servants cannot. Their vision is imperfect and we'll prove it to you. Bring a bowl of water."
A bowl of water was brought. The god asked the servants to study it closely and then leave the room. When they were gone, he removed half a spoonful of water from the bowl. Then the servants were called back in.
"Is there any change in the bowl of water?" asked the god.
"None," said the servants.
"They cannot see that the water has diminished," said the god, "just as they cannot see that your beauty has deteriorated."
The prince was shaken. He thought : "My beauty is diminishing by the day. It is short-lived. Why am I besotted by something so fleeting? I should concern myself with that which is eternal."
He never again looked into a mirror and in course of time renounced his throne and became a monk.

— A medieval Jain tale