A Love Story

[Guest guest]

A Love Story

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace."

—Jimi Hendrix

There's an old story about a group of monks

living with their master in a Tibetan monastery. Their lives were

disciplined and dedicated, and the atmosphere in which they lived

harmonious and peaceful. People from villages far and wide flocked to

the monastery to bask in the warmth of such a loving spiritual

environment.

Then one day the master departed his earthly

form. At first the monks continued on as they had in the past, but

after a time, the discipline and devotion that had been hallmarks of

their daily routine slackened. The number of villagers coming through

the doors each day began to drop, and little by little, the monastery

fell into a state of disrepair.

Soon the monks were bickering among

themselves, some pointing fingers of blame, others filled with guilt.

The energy within the monastery walls crackled with animosity.

Finally, the senior monk could take it no

longer. Hearing that a spiritual master lived as a hermit two days walk

away, the monk wasted no time in seeking him out. Finding the master in

his forest hermitage, the monk told him of the sad state the monastery

had fallen into and asked his advice.

The master smiled. "There is one living among

you who is the incarnation of God. Because he is being disrespected by

those around him, he will not show himself, and the monastery will

remain in disrepair." With those words spoken, the master fell silent

and would say no more.

All the way back to the monastery, the monk wondered which of his brothers might be the Incarnated One.

"Perhaps it is Brother Jaspar who does our

cooking," the monk said aloud. But then a second later thought, "No, it

can't be him. He is sloppy and ill tempered and the food he prepares is

tasteless."

"Perhaps our gardener, Brother Timor, is the

one," he then thought. This consideration, too, was quickly followed by

denial. "Of course not" he said aloud. "God is not lazy and would never

let weeds take over a lettuce patch the way Brother Timor has."

Finally, after dismissing each and every one

of his brothers for this fault or that, the senior monk realized there

were none left. Knowing it had to be one of the monks because the

master had said it was, he worried over it a bit before a new thought

dawned. "Could it be that the Holy One has chosen to display a fault in

order to disguise himself?" he wondered. "Of course it could! That must

be it!"

Reaching the monastery, he immediately told

his brothers what the master had said and all were just as astonished

as he had been to learn the Divine was living among them.

Since each knew it was not himself who was God

Incarnate, each began to study his brothers carefully, all trying to

determine who among them was the Holy One. But all any of them could

see were the faults and failings of the others. If God was in their

midst, he was doing a fine job of hiding himself. Finding the

Incarnated One among such rubble would be difficult, indeed.

After much discussion, it was finally decided

that they would all make an effort to be kind and loving toward each

another, treating all with the respect and honor one would naturally

give to the Incarnated One. If God insisted on remaining hidden, then

they had no recourse but to treat each monk as if he were the Holy One.

Each so concentrated on seeing God in the

other that soon their hearts filled with such love for one another the

chains of negativity that held them bound fell away. As time passed,

they began seeing God not just in each other, but in every one and

everything. Days were spent in joyful reverence, rejoicing in His Holy

Presence. The monastery radiated this joy like a beacon and soon the

villagers returned, streaming through the doors as they had before,

seeking to be touched by the love and devotion present there.

It was some time later that the senior monk decided to pay the master another visit to thank him for the secret he had revealed. "Did you discover the identity of the Incarnated One?" the master asked.

"We did," the senior monk replied. "We found him residing in all of us."

The master smiled.

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