Story 12+13+14

All the following stories are gotten from Feiyang. Thanks!


One early morning, a man was standing at the top of a certain hill that was overlooking the sea.

On the footpath below, two fishermen who had just returned from sea were on the way to the market to sell their goods. They saw the man standing at the top of the hill and began to talk about it.

The first man said, “I think he is looking at the sea and admiring how beautiful it is.”

Said the second man,” No, no, look at the way he stares at the sky; he must be admiring the sunrise.”

“Come to think of it, he may be waiting for someone he loves to return from sea.”

“No I disagree, he has such an evil look on his face; he must be waiting to rob some unsuspecting fisherman that passes by!”

Thus the two fishermen bickered over this issue and came up with more and more ridiculous reasons as to why he was standing on top of the hill.

Finally one of them said, “Why not let us simply go and ask him for the reason?”

They agreed, and they did so.

The man who was standing at the top appeared confused at their question, and answered,” I am standing here simply because I feel like standing here.”

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Normality is merely a matter of consensus, that is, a lot of people think something is right, and so that thing becomes right.

Some things are governed by common sense; putting buttons on the front of a shirt is a matter of logic, since it would be very difficult to button them at the side, and impossible if they were at the back.

Other things, however, become fixed because more and more people believe that’s the way that it should be. For example, have you ever wondered why the keys on a typewriter are arranged in a particular order?

We call it the QWERTY keyboard, because that’s the order of the letters on the first row of keys. The first machine was invented by Christopher Scholes, in 1873, to improve calligraphy, but there was a problem; if a person typed very fast, the keys got stuck together and stopped the machine working.. Thus Schole designed the QWERTY keyboard, a keyboard that would oblige all typists to type more slowly.

A company named Remington, who were sewing machine manufacturers at that time, used the QWERTY keyboard for their first typewriters. That meant that more people were forced to learn that particular system, and more companies started to make those keyboards, until it became the only available model. To repeat: the keyboards on typewriters and modern computers was designed so that people would type more slowly, not more quickly. If you changed the letters around, you wouldn’t find anyone to buy your product. It’s strange now how we always assume that the QWERTY layout was the best layout for people to type quickly.

Another example. There is a cathedral in Florence, which has a beautiful clock designed by Paolo Uccello in 1443. Now the curious thing about this clock is that, although it keeps time like all other clocks, its hands go in the opposite direction to that of normal clocks.

When he made the clock long ago, he was not trying to be original; the fact is that, at the time, there were clocks like his as well as others with hands that went in the direction we’re familiar with now. For some unknown reason, perhaps because the Duke had a clock that went in the direction we now think of as the ‘right’ direction, that became the only direction, and Uccello’s clock then seemed an aberration, a madness.

To sum up. Each human being is unique, each with their own qualities, instincts, forms of pleasure and desire for adventure. However, society always imposes on us a collective way of behaving , and people never stop to wonder why they should behave like that. They just accept it, just as typists accepted that the QWERTY keyboard was the best possible one.

Anyone who tries to stop and wonder, however, will be deemed mad.

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One morning, a farmer knocked loudly on a door of a monastery. When Brother Porter opened the door, the farmer held out to him a magnificent bunch of grapes.

“Dear Brother Porter, these are the finest grapes from my vineyard. Please accept them as a gift from me.”

“Why, thank you! I’ll take it straight to the Abbot, who will be thrilled with such a gift.”

“No, no, I brought them for you.”

“For me? But I don’t deserve such a beautiful gift from nature.”

“Whenever I knocked on the door, you opened it. When the harvest had been ruined by drought, you gave me a piece of bread and a glass of wine everyday. I want this bunch of grapes to bring you a little of the sun’s love, the rain’s beauty, and God’s miraculous power.”

So Brother Porter put the grapes down where he could see them and spent the whole morning admiring them: they really were lovely. Because of this, he decided to give the present to the Abbot, whose words of wisdom had always been such a boon to him.

The Abbot was very pleased with the grapes, but then he remembered that one of the other monks was ill and thought: I’ll give him the grapes. Who knows, they might bring a little joy into his life.

But the grapes did not remain for very long in the room of the ailing monk, for he in turn thought: Brother Cook has taken such good care of me, giving me only the very best food to eat. I’m sure these grapes will bring him great happiness. And when Brother Cook brought him his lunch, the monk gave him the grapes.

“These are for you. You are in close touch with the gifts that nature gives us and will know what to do with this, God’s produce.”

Brother Cook was so amazed at the beauty of the grapes and drew his assistant’s attention to their perfection. They were so perfect that no one could possibly appreciate them more than Brother Sacristan, who had charge of the Holy Sacrament, and whom many considered to be a truly saintly man.

Brother Sacristan, in turn, gave the grapes to the youngest of the novices in order to help him understand that God’s work is to be found in the smallest details of the Creation. When the novice received them, his heart was filled with the glory of God, because he had never before seen such a beautiful bunch of grapes. At the same time, he remembered the day he had arrived at the monastery and the person who had opened the door to him; that gesture of opening the door had allowed him to be there now in that community of people who knew the value of miracles.

Shortly before dark, he took the bunch of grapes to Brother Porter.

“Eat and enjoy. You spend most of your time here all alone, and these grapes will do you good.”

Thus Brother Porter understood then that the gift was really intended for him, he savoured every grape and went to sleep a happy man. In this way, the circle was closed; the circle of happiness and joy which always wraps around those who are in contact with the energy of Love.