Jainism For Beginners Level 01

Author(s): Sayampurnashreeji
Publisher: Sayampurnashreeji

Page 68

A teacher once told each of her students to bring a clear plastic bag and a sack of apples to school. For every person they refused to forgive in their life's experiences they had to choose an apple, write the name of the person and date on it, and put it back in the plastic bag. Some of their bags became quite heavy within a few days.
weight they were carrying. They had to pay attention to it all the time and not forget it by leaving it in embarrassing places. Naturally, within a couple of weeks the apples became rotten and it turned into a nasty, smelly slime. This, in turn, made them unpleasant company.
It did not take long for each of the students to figure out that getting rid of the apples was much more important than carrying them around.
Then they were asked to carry this bag with them everywhere for one week. They had to put it beside their bed at night, on the seat next to them in the car, next to their desk at school. They even had to take it with them to their friends' houses.
This is a great metaphor for the price we pay for keeping our anger and pain! Too often we think of forgiveness as a gift to the other person.
The hassle of lugging this sack everywhere with them made it clear what
Forgiveness is clearly for us!
The winner is always a part of the answer; The loser is always a part of a problem.
The winner always has a plan; The loser is always has an excuse. The winner says "Let me do it for you";
The loser says 'That's not my job". The winner sees an answer in every problem;
The loser sees a problem in every answer. The winner sees a green near every sand trap;
The loser sees a sand trap near every green. The winner says, It may be difficult but its possible', The loser says, It may be possible but its difficult
The winner says sun is source of life;
The loser says sun is scorching The winner says half glass is full The loser says half glass is empty.
LIVING VALUES