Last week, Sensei divided the monks into small groups and asked them to present mini plays, based on the mythological story of Sita’s abduction by Ravan.
The monks were excited and prepared themselves in earnest.
This morning, after silent meditation, each of the groups presented their plays. The monks enjoyed watching their friends playing the roles of Sita, Ram, Ravan, Laxman and the Deer. The groups had cleverly allocated role-playing between themselves and each group came through with its distinct style & flavour.
After the last group had presented, Sensei surprised everyone by asking each group to re-enact their play, but with completely jumbled up roles! Sensei just asked each Monk to be someone else in the play.
The monks were not prepared for this. In round 2, Angry Monk played the part of Sita and growled when he spoke! Laughing Monk played Ram and giggled even though he spoke serious words. Silent Monk who never spoke (and had played deer in round 1) had to play Laxman this time and communicated in sign language. Respectful Monk played Ravan and spoke so softly that no one could hear him. Aggressive Monk who had played Ravan in the last round became Laxman this time and behaved very badly when he spoke to Sita!
The second round was hilarious, and Sensei and the monks laughed and laughed! The morning had turned out to be really entertaining.
Later, when everyone had settled down, Sensei clapped thrice and said, “To play your natural role is easy. But to play the role of someone you are not, is difficult.
When you play someone else’s role, you realise how different people are, what they say, and why.
Think of other people and their roles in life. Then, accepting them in your life will be easier than you think…”
*****
