A renowned Sage visited the Monastery. He invited Sensei and the Monks into the main hall and made them sit down on neatly placed cushions. The Sage asked everyone to close their eyes and reach under their cushions to find a pair of wooden chopsticks placed there.
The Sage said, “Monks, keep your eyes closed and meditate on your chopsticks. Meditate on the space between the two sticks. After a while, I will throw grapes at you. Meditate with all sincerity and when you sense the grape between your chopsticks, simply snap your chopsticks and catch the grape.”
The monks had never done ‘chopsticks meditation’ before and were excited.
After a while, some of the monks actually caught the grapes, using their chopsticks! The monks were amazed at their own achievement. After a while, the Sage asked everyone to open their eyes. When the monks looked around, they were surprised to see that there were no extra grapes lying around them. It was as if all the monks had caught the grapes thrown at them in the first shot!
All of a sudden, Laughing Monk burst out laughing. He just kept giggling and laughing till tears began to roll down his face. Inquisitive Monk urged Sensei to explain what had happened.
Sensei addressed them and said, “You were not the one who was perfectly catching the grapes by your chopsticks when they were thrown at you. Instead, it was the Sage who was throwing the grapes at you with such blessed perfection that just as you snapped your chopsticks you managed to catch your grape. In the same way, Buddha keeps throwing gifts at all of us, for us to catch them when we make the simplest of effort. Just be sincere and keep trying. Your gift will come.”
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