Last summer Sensei and the Monks had gone to a Zebra farm. There, standing on the viewing observatory, Sensei pointed at a large herd of Zebras and exclaimed, “Look at that pretty Zebra! She is so cute! So dainty, so delicate!”
The monks looked at all the Zebras but could not figure out which was the ‘pretty’ Zebra Sensei was talking about.
A few minutes later, Sensei again excitedly said, “Oh! Look! Look at that strong, muscular, handsome male Zebra. Look there, at that Zebra, in the center!”
Once again the monks looked very carefully, but could not spot this “strong, muscular, handsome Zebra.”
Head Monk bowed to Sensei and requested him to explain his words.
Sensei clapped twice and said, “When Buddha looks at humans from his viewing observatory, he sees identical people; just like we see these identical-looking Zebras. When we know that we are all the same, then why do we bother to differentiate ourselves on the basis of our looks and other physical characteristics?”
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