$JES 904 Compendium of Jainism (Jain Academic Bowl Manual 3rd Edition)

Author(s): JAINA Education Committee
Publisher: JAINA Education Committee

Page 199

CONDUCT
C11- Living Values
Once more the brave boy made up his mind. He would not be a cripple. He would walk. But unfortunately from the waist down, he had no motor ability. His thin legs just dangled there, all but lifeless. Ultimately, he was released from the hospital. Every day his mother would massage his little legs, but there was no feeling, no control, nothing. Yet his determination to walk was as strong as ever. When he wasn't in bed, he was confined to a wheelchair. One sunny day, his mother wheeled him out into the yard to get some fresh air. This day, instead of sitting there, he threw himself from the chair. He pulled himself across the grass, dragging his legs behind him. He worked his way to the white picket fence bordering their lot. With great effort, he raised himself up on the fence. Then, stake by stake, he began dragging himself along the fence, convinced that he would walk. He started to do this every day until he wore a smooth path all around the yard beside the fence. There was nothing he wanted more than to develop life in those legs. Ultimately, through his daily massages, his iron persistence, and his resolute determination, he did develop the ability to stand up, then to walk slowly, then to walk completely by himself, and then to run. He began to walk to school and then run to school, to run for the sheer joy of running. Later in college, he made the track team. Still later, in Madison Square Garden, this young man who was not expected to survive, who would surely never walk, who could never hope to run...this determined young man, Dr. Glenn Cunningham, ran the world's fastest mile! Recommended reading from Jain Stories - The Two Frogs 09 Self Reliance A man found the cocoon of a butterfly. One day, a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could, and it could go no further. Therefore, the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. However, it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It was never able to fly. What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand, was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were nature's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings. By doing so, it would be ready to fly once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon. Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If we were allowed to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. We would never fly. I asked for Strength...........
And I got Difficulties to make me strong. I asked for Wisdom.....
And I got Problems to solve. I asked for Prosperity...........
And I got Brain and Brawn to work. I asked for Courage..........
And I got Danger to overcome.
Compendium of Jainism - 2015
Page 199 of 398