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| Moral Stories - Respect |
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| wardah |
| 07/14/03 at 08:58:28 |
| [slm] [u]Moral stories - respect[/u] A long time ago a girl named Li-Li got married, and went to live with her husband and mother-in-law. In a very short time Li-Li found that she couldn’t get along with her mother-in-law at all. Their personalities were very different, and Li-Li was infuriated by many of her mother-in-law’s habits, the worst of which was constant criticism. Days passed days, weeks passed weeks, but Li-Li and her mother-in-law never stopped arguing and fighting. What made the situation even worse was that, according to ancient Chinese tradition, Li-Li had to bow to her mother-in-law and obey her every wish. All the anger and unhappiness in the house caused everyone great distress Finally, Li-Li could not stand her mother-in-law’s bad temper and dictatorship any longer, so she decided to do something about it. Li-Li went to see her father’s good friend Mr. Huang, who sold herbs. She told him the problem, and asked if he would give some poison so that she would solve the problem once and for all. Mr. Huang thought for a while, and finally he said, "Li-Li, I will help you to solve your problem, but you must listen to me and obey what I tell you." Li-Li said, "Yes, Mr. Huang, I will do whatever you tell me to do." Mr. Huang went into the back room, and returned in a few minutes with a package of herbs. He told Li-Li, "You can’t use a quick-acting poison to get rid of your mother-in-law, because that would cause people to become suspicious. Therefore, I have given you a number of herbs that will slowly build up poison in her body. Every other day prepare some pork or chicken, and put a little of these herbs in her serving. Now, in order to make sure that nobody suspects you when she dies, you must be very careful to act very friendly toward her. Don’t argue with her, obey her every wish, and treat her like a queen." Li-Li was so happy. She thanked Mr. Huang, and hurried home to start her plot of murdering her mother-in-law. Weeks went by, and months went by, and every other day Li-Li served the specially treated food to her mother-in-law. She remembered what Mr. Huang had said about avoiding suspicion, so she controlled her temper, obeyed her mother-in-law, and treated her like her own mother. After six months had passed, the whole household had changed. Li-Li had practiced controlling her temper so much that she found that she almost never got mad or upset. She hadn’t had an argument in six months with her mother-in-law, who now seemed much kinder and easier to get along with. The mother-in-law’s attitude toward Li-Li had changed, and she began to love Li-Li like her own daughter. She kept telling friends and relatives that Li-Li was the best daughter-in-law one could ever find. Li-Li and her mother-in-law were now treating each other just like a real mother and daughter. One day Li-Li came to see Mr. Huang and again asked for his help. She said, "dear Mr. Huang, please help me to keep the poison from killing my mother-in-law! She’s changed into such a nice woman, and I love her like my own mother. I do not want her to die because of the poison I gave to her." Mr. Huang smiled and nodded his head. "Li-Li," he said, "there’s nothing to worry about. I never gave you any poison. All of the herbs I gave you were simply to improve her health. The only poison was in your mind and your attitude towards her, but that has been all washed away by the love which you gave to her." From this story you can see that before anyone can respect you, you must first respect others. Remember, "The person who loves others will also be loved." |
| 07/15/03 at 09:12:18 |
| wardah |
| Re: Moral stoies: Honour |
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| wardah |
| 07/14/03 at 09:04:28 |
[slm] [u]Moral Stories- Honour[/u] In China, there was once a family made up of a father, a mother, a ten-year old son, and a grandmother. Every mealtime they sat together around the table. The grandmother was quite old. Her hands had begun to shake all the time, and she had difficulty holding things. Whenever she ate, she couldn’t hold the rice bowl steady and spilled rice all over the table. The daughter-in-law was very upset by this. One day she complained to her husband, "My dear husband, every time your mother eats she spills her food all over the table. This makes me so sick I can’t eat my own food!" The husband didn’t say anything. He knew that he couldn’t keep his other’s hands from shaking. In a few days, when the husband had done nothing to solve the problem, his wife spoke to him again. "Are you going to do something about your mother or not? I cannot stand it any more." After arguing for a while, the husband sadly gave into his wife’s suggestion, and agreed that his mother should sit at a separate table, away from the rest of the family. When dinnertime came, the grandmother found herself sitting alone at a separate table. And to make things worse, she had to eat from a cheap, chipped bowl because she had dropped and broken several others. The grandmother was very sad, but she knew she couldn’t do anything about it. She began to think of the past, and how much time and love she had given her son as he was growing up. She had never complained, but had always been there when he was sick or when he needed anything. Now she felt deserted by her family, and her heart was broken. Several days passed. The grandmother was still very sad, and the smile began to disappear from her face. Her ten year old grandson had been watching everything, and he came to her and said, "Grandma, I know you are very unhappy about how my parents are treating you, but don’t worry. I think I know how to get them to invite you back to the table, but I’ll need your help." Hope began to grow in the grandmother’s heart. "But what to you want me to do?" she asked. The boy smiled and said, "Tonight at dinnertime, break your rice bowl, but make it look like an accident." Grandmother’s eyes opened wide in wonder. "But why?" she asked. "Don’t worry," he said, "leave it to me." Dinnertime came. She was curious about what her grandson was going to do, so she decided to do as he had asked. When her son and daughter-in-law were not looking, she picked up the old and chipped rice bowl that she had to eat out of, then dropped it on the floor and broke it. Immediately her daughter-in-law stood up, ready to complain. However, before she could say anything, the grandson stood up and said, "Grandma, why did you break that bowl? I wanted to save it for my mother when she gets old!" When the mother heard this her face turned pale. She suddenly realized that everything she did was an example to her son. They way she was treating her mother-in-law was teaching her son how to devalue her when she got old. She suddenly felt very ashamed. From that day on, the whole family ate together around the same table. From this, you can see that how we love, value and respect teachers and elders is exactly how we deserve to be treated when we are old. Real love is something that cannot be purchased. Respect your parents and love them always. Only then will you deserve the respect and love of your own children. |
| 07/15/03 at 09:19:28 |
| wardah |
| Re: Moral Stories - Humility |
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| wardah |
| 07/15/03 at 09:18:03 |
| [slm] [u]Moral Stories - Humility[/u] Once upon a time, a student came to see a Zen master. He said, "Honorable master, I have studied for many years, and I have learned so much of the martial arts and Zen theory already that I have reached a very high level. I heard that you are a great master, and I have therefore come to see if you can teach me anything more." The master didn’t reply. Instead, he picked up a teacup and placed it in front of the student. He then picked up the teapot and poured until the tea reached the rim of the cup, and then he kept on pouring until the tea overflowed onto the table. The student stared at the master in total confusion and said, "No, no, Master! The cup is overflowing!" The master stopped pouring, looked at him and smiled. He said, "Young man, this is you. I am sorry that I cannot accept you as a student. Like this cup, your mind is filled up and I cannot teach you any more. If you want to learn, you must first empty your cup." In order to be humble, you must first rid yourself of false dignity. This is especially true in front of a master. A person who is really wise knows when and how to bend, and always keeps his cup empty. |
| Re: Morality of Deed: Loyalty |
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| wardah |
| 07/16/03 at 09:24:12 |
[slm] [u]Morality of Deed: Loyalty[/u] Loyalty is the root of trust. You should be loyal to your teacher and to your friends, and they should also be loyal to you. Loyalty lets mutual trust grow. In the Chinese martial arts, it is especially crucial that there be loyalty between you and your master. This loyalty is build upon a foundation of obedience to your master. Obedience is the prerequisite for learning. If you sincerely desire to learn, you should rid yourself of false dignity. You must bow to your teacher both mentally and spiritually. Only this will open the gates of trust. A teacher will not teach someone who is always concerned about his own dignity. A long time ago in Asia there was a king. Nobody had ever seen the king's real face, because whenever he met with his ministers and officials, and whenever he appeared in public, he always wore a mask. The face on the mask had a very stern and solemn expression. Because nobody could see the real expression on his face, all the officials and people respected him, obeyed him, and feared him. This made it possible for him to rule the country efficiently and well. One day his wife said to him, "If you have to wear the mask in order to rule the country well, then what the people respect and show loyalty to is the mask and not you." The king wanted to prove to his wife that it was he who really ruled the country, and not the mask, so he decided to the take the mask off and let the officials see his real face. Without the mask, the officials were able to see the expression on his face and figure out what he was thinking. It wasn't long before the officials weren't afraid of him anymore. A few months passed, and the situation got steadily worse. He had lost the solemn dignity which made people fear him, and even worse, the officials had started to lose respect for him. Not only did they argue with each other in front of him, they even began to argue with him about his decisions. He soon realized that the unity and cooperation among his officials had disintegrated. His ability to lead the country had gradually disappeared, and the country was falling into disorder. The king realized that, in order to regain the respect of the people and his ability to rule the country, he had to do something. He therefore gave the order to behead all the officials who had seen his face, and he then appointed new ones. He then put the mask back on his face. Soon afterward, the country was again united and under his control. Do you have a mask on your face? Is it the mask that people are loyal to? Is what you show people on your face what you really thing? Do we have to put a mask on this masked society? How heavy and how thick is your mask? Have you ever taken your mask off and taken a good look at the real you in the mirror? If you can do this it will make you humble. Then, even if you have a mask on your face, your life will not be ruled by your mask. |
| Re: Moral Stories - Respect |
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| paula |
| 07/22/03 at 00:10:14 |
| [slm][size=2][font=Verdana] Smile.... Jazak Allahu Khairan Sister Wardah … these are enjoyable. Indeed Ethics(Morals) are a sincere core Value of Isalm….. Subhan Allah. small exerpt from "Values of Islam" Author: Dr. M. Abd EL-Kader Hatem Ch. 8 'Ethics' ….. Isalm urges man to be patient, truthful, benevolent, generous, faithful, honest, modest, tolerant, forgiving, lenient, kindly, & pure. It also urges him to tell the truth & work for it’s triumph. Islam again urges that we be just & unprejudiced, kind to the poor & the weak, to meet malevolence with benevolence, & to cooperate with others in doing good & benevolent things, & to advocate goodness & keep away from the objectionable…… (note: this list is not all inclusive just a hint of an excerpt). I didn’t have any applicable poems to share in the theme, so thought to share the exerpt ;) [/font][/size] [wlm] |
| 07/22/03 at 01:07:22 |
| paula |
| Re: Moral Stories - Respect |
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| sister2sister |
| 08/10/03 at 05:54:54 |
| [slm] Masha Allah, those were very beautiful. Mind if I pass them around??? ;D YSII :-) |
| Re: Moral Stories - Respect |
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| wardah |
| 08/21/03 at 09:12:41 |
[wlm] wa iyyakum sis simply_sister. Jazakallah khair for the excerpt, really nice mashallah :-* sis sister2sister of course i don't mind if you pass them around :) wassalam |
| Re: Moral Stories - Respect |
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| Trustworthy |
| 08/21/03 at 13:43:22 |
| [slm] That was wonderful. I was in tears. Luckily no one was here to see them. JK for the lessons. We always need reminding. Ma-asalaama.... |
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