One old woman cried all the time. The reason was that her eldest daughter married an umbrella seller, and her youngest daughter married a noodle seller. When the old woman saw that the weather was good and the day would be sunny, she began to cry and thought:
“Terrible! The sun is so huge and the weather is so good, no one will buy an umbrella from my daughter in the store for the rain! How can this be?
So she thought and involuntarily began to groan and lament. If the weather was bad and it was raining. then she cried again, this time because of her youngest daughter:
“My daughter sells noodles; if the noodles don’t dry in the sun, they won’t sell. How can this be?
And so she grieved every day in any weather: either because of her eldest daughter, or because of her youngest. The neighbors could not console her and mocked her with the nickname “tearful old woman.” One day she met a monk who asked her why she was crying. Then the woman laid out all her sorrows, and the monk laughed loudly and said:
- Madam, don’t kill yourself like that! I will teach you the Path of Liberation, and you will cry no more.
The “tearful old woman” became extremely happy and began to ask what kind of method this was. The monk said:
- It's very simple. Just change your way of thinking - when the weather is good and the sun is shining, don’t think about the eldest daughter’s umbrellas, but think about the younger daughter’s noodles: “How the sun shines! The youngest daughter’s noodles will dry well, and the trade will be successful.” When it rains, think about your eldest daughter’s umbrellas: “Now it’s raining!” My daughter’s umbrellas will probably sell very well.”
After listening to the monk, the old woman suddenly received her sight and began to do as the monk said. From that time on, not only did she not cry anymore, but she was cheerful all the time, so that from a “tearful” old woman she turned into a “cheerful” one.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru