Inspiration: Folk Tales & Stories

A Zen Tale A horse suddenly came galloping quickly down the road. It seemed as though the man had somewhere important to go. Another man, who was standing alongside the road, shouted, "Where are you going?" and the man on the horse replied, "I don't know! Ask the...

One cold stormy day a Goatherd drove his Goats for shelter into a cave, where a number of Wild Goats had also found their way. The Shepherd wanted to make the Wild Goats part of his flock; so he fed them well. But to his own flock, he gave only just enough food to...

A man who lived a long time ago believed that he could read the future in the stars. He called himself an Astrologer, and spent his time at night gazing at the sky. One evening he was walking along the open road outside the village. His eyes were fixed on the stars....

A Merchant, driving his Ass homeward from the seashore with a heavy load of salt, came to a river crossed by a shallow ford. They had crossed this river many times before without accident, but this time the Ass slipped and fell when halfway over. And when the Merchant...

There once was a happy monkey. He wandered through the jungle, happy to be alive. He stopped to eat delicious fruit when he was hungry, and resting when he was tired. One day he came upon a house, where he saw a bowl of the most beautiful apples. He took one in each...

The Peacock was greatly discontented because he had not a beautiful voice like the nightingale, and he went and complained to Juno about it. “The nightingale’s song,” said he, “is the envy of all the birds; but whenever I utter a sound I become a laughing-stock.” The...

A Fable by Aesop An Oak that grew on the bank of a river was uprooted by a severe gale of wind, and thrown across the stream. It fell among some Reeds growing by the water, and said to them, “How is it that you, who are so frail and slender, have managed to weather...

An Aesop's Fable A Gnat alighted on one of the horns of a Bull, and remained sitting there for a considerable time. When it had rested sufficiently and was about to fly away, it said to the Bull, “Do you mind if I go now?” The Bull merely raised his eyes and remarked,...

One day the Buddha held up a flower in front of an audience of 1,250 monks and nuns. He did not say anything for quite a long time. The audience was perfectly silent. Everyone seemed to be thinking hard, trying to see the meaning behind the Buddha’s gesture. Then,...

You are holding a cup of coffee when someone comes along and bumps into you or shakes your arm, making you spill your coffee everywhere. Why did you spill the coffee? “Well because someone bumped into me, of course!” Wrong answer. You spilled the coffee because there...

A Buddhist monk was walking barefoot down a dusty road when he stepped on something sharp. It stuck in his heel, so after a few steps he stopped to pull it out. Lo and behold! It was a very beautifully carved and very valuable gemstone. The monk rinsed it off at a...

Huitse said to Changtse, “I have a tree, and though it is large its trunk is so irregular and gnarled and its branches so twisted that it cannot be used for lumber. It stands right by the roadside, yet no carpenter will look at it. Your words are like that tree, big...

A Folk Tale from India Once upon a time there was a great king who ruled his people with generosity and kindness. He showed compassion for everything, for all the birds and animals and for every person, young and old. He also honored the gods. So good was the king...

One day a priest's one slipper fell into the river. The priest threw the other slipper into the water because he had no use for one slipper. A man was bathing in the river. He saw the slipper and threw it on the bank. But the slipper hit a man who was carrying a pot...

Once, a king's army was going back after a battle. Their food supplies got finished. The king asked his soldiers to go to a nearby village and get the grains. Some soldiers and their commander entered the village and met a farmer. The commander asked him, "Dear...

Once a farmer painted an advertisement for puppies to sell and was fixing it on the edge of his yard. As he was hitting last nail for board to be fixed on it’s place he felt a tug on his overalls. When he looked behind he saw a little kid. He asked, “What do you want...

A camel lived in a forest. He had a very bad habit of teasing or insulting other animals for their appearance. He would tease the elephant and say, "Oh! How fat and ugly you look. God has given two tails one in the back and one in the front." To the rhinoceros, he...

Once a very rich man went to see a Monk in order to seek advice from him about What he should do with his life, What’s purpose of his life. Monk led him over to window and asked him, “Can you see through the glass?? If yes, Tell me what you see??” Man replied, “I can...

A guy used to go for jog around a park. By the park there was a lake. On Sundays he used to see an elderly women sitting by lake side with a small metal cage beside her. The jogger was curious to see what she did there. So one Sunday he bucked up his courage and...

Swami Vivekananda had vast knowledge of both eastern and western culture. He had brilliant conversation skills and deep spiritual insight due to which in 1893 he was selected to be present Hinduism at the world’s Parliament of Religion which was to be heal at Chicago....