Making others happy.

Picture; From my vintage photographs collection.

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A monk made his regular visit to patients in a hospital.

He met a man who suffered a lot from a major operation.

The man ask the monk what can he do to lessen his pain-

and sufferings that he endured.

The monk said; ' Think of loving others.'

The man was angry at the monk's reply,

he said; " I am myself in this great pain, Am I not the one

who must be loved? And you advice me to love others as well,.."

The man closed his eyes and pretended to sleep.

So the monk left.

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Many months after that, it happens that one day the man

met the monk on the streets.

The man greet the monk and said;

"Were you not the monk who visited me in the hospital-

many months ago? I was in great pain then, suffering from

a major operation, and when I asked you how can I-

lessened my pain, you adviced me to think of loving others.

Untill now I still didn't understand,

how can you gave me such advice, while I was the one

to be loved?"

The monk smiled, and said,

' When you think of yourself, you were demanding,

the minute you began to demand, you suffer,

But, when you begin to think of loving others,

and hoping others to be happy,

that's the time you feel happy,

when you were happy, I really hope

you can lessen and reduce your own suffering'

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Think of boys and girls who were dating, each tried hard-

to make the other happy, that what makes

dating so beautiful and full of happiness.

But, years after marriage, each demand a lot of things from

the spouse, attention, money, to behave well, etc etc,

When they began to think of themselves,

and demanded this and that, sufferings came.

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Sufferings came the moment we demand others to make us happy,

On the the other hand, happiness came the moment

we wanted to make others happy.

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(H H Sri Pannyavaro, Wisdom of life)