The Tiger and the Strawberry

Photo courtesy of waylett21, sxc.hu
Photo courtesy of waylett21, sxc.hu

Miko was hunting for food in the mountain forest when a tiger sprang from behind a bush and began to chase him. Miko ran as fast as he could, jumping over tangled roots and broken branches. Still the tiger pursued him relentlessly. He ran on until the path came to the edge of a ravine. He tried to control his footing but he slipped and went sailing off the edge. He flailed his arms through the air and caught hold of a vine.

So there he was, swinging on the vine. Above him, the tiger paced back and forth. Below him was a hundred foot drop straight to the rocks. As he looked around searching for some way out of his predicament, he saw a small bush hanging out from the side of the cliff. It was a strawberry bush and on it was a single red and ripe strawberry.

He plucked the strawberry from the bush and bit into it. Never before had a strawberry tasted so sweet.

No Fruit

Photo courtesy of ARG, Flickr
Photo courtesy of ARG, Flickr

The disciple approached the master and said, “I have been with you for fifteen years and yet it seems that my stay here has yielded no fruit.”

The master replied, “It is true that you have been with me for fifteen years. Yet I have observed that in all those years, you still seek to cling to something, whether to a word I speak or to some obscure passage of scripture. Learn to have the courage to let go completely. Fruit only comes when you are no longer timid enough to shake the tree.”