tic & toc makes a chanting woodstock

this is a very intereting story about vengefulness, unforgiveness and unresolved hatred.

once, there was a farmer who was walking back from his field. he heard a frantic croaking from behind a bush. he went to check and saw a big frog struggling madly. its leg was caught in the mouth of a snake.

using his pole he was carrying, he whacked the snake to death freeing the frog from its grip. happily, he was pleased with himself thinking that he had done a compassionate deed in saving the frog.

little did he realise, he had in fact sow a karmic bad retribulation of killing the snake which he was about to encounter again sooner than he thought.

on reaching home, he found 3 newly born puppies from the pet bitch he reared. 2 of which were black and one was beige. for some unexplained reason, the farmer loved the beige puppy very much. he pampered day and night and brought him everywhere he went.

one day, he brought the beige puppy which had grown to be quite a large dog to the temple to pray. the abbot there saw a snake-formed in the beige dog walking with the farmer towards the temple.

the old wise monk summoned the farmer over to him. he said to the farmer, "mind what handsome beige dog u got there! could u let me have it?"

"sorry, master," replied the farmer. "i love this pet dog very much. i got another 2 black ones at home. you can have either of them." he was about to leave fter praying. the abbot went up to him and told him this, "my friend, tomorrow at noon u mustn't take a nap in your bed." he warned. " u must take some straws and stuff thme into your clothings, cover it with your blanket and lay it on the bed. hide outside ur room and peer through ur window.....remember this for your life's in danger!"

the next day at noon, the farmer did what was instructed. suddenly, the room door spranged opened, the beige dog ran in, jumped onto the bed and gnashed at the the st straw man which the farmer made and put it there on his bed.

the farmer saw all this from outside the room window he was hiding. he was heartbroken and furious. he couldn't understand how could he love and pamper that beige dog so much and it turned to kill him. angrily, he took a long pole, rushed into his room and killed the dog with a single blow.

he ran to the temple to look for the old abbot. breathless and sad, he cried to the abbot, "why is my pet dog attacking me? i love it so much!!"

the abbot calmly explained to him, "remember that snake that u killed? it has reincarnated into that dog. it's a ill fated karma and it's back to take revenge on you...." the abbot shook his head. he continued, " when u work in the field tomorrow, do not respond to any sweet voice calling for you. you must turn and run away from the voice as fast as possible and do not turn back or your life would be in terrible danger! ornitofou...chui guo..chui guo..."

the next day, the farmer was hard at work in his rice field. soon, he heard a very sweet voice calling his name. he was so immersed in his work that he had almost forgotten about the wise abbot's warning. he thought to himself and visualised a pretty girl nearby calling him. instead of running away, he went to check where the voice came from.

he noticed wriggling of rice bush and a beautiful maiden's head popped out smiling at him. as he approached nearer, he was terribly shocked to see that the lower half body of the fair maiden was a long slithering snake form.

he realised the warning from the abbot and quickly turned to run. the snake maiden was hot on his trail. the farmer ran towards the direction of the temple. he yelled aloud for help. the abbot heard his call and saw him nearing the temple, beckoned him to stand below a below. he quickly released the rope lowering the bell to hide the farmer.

soon the snake also entered the temple and slithered straight to the bell hiding the farmer. it hit at the bell but could not budge it. exasperated, the snake maiden coiled tightly around the bell. when the abbot saw that he thought to himself, " what a negative karmic fate. the snake is seeking revenge on the farmer for killing it in the past life. maybe i leave it alone with the bell. when it's tired, it would just go away."

next morning, he went to check. he was astonished to see the snake maiden dead. relieved, he strung up the bell to check on the farmer hidding inside there. the abbot was saddened. the farmer was dead. he realised what the snake-maiden just did. it spewed all it's poison into the bell and coiling tightly around it to seal the fumes. this finally also exhausted its energy and it died. the farmer's body blacked from the toxic fume and died too.

after chanting some mantras and doing a rite for both the dead snake and the farmer, he buried them opposite a well in the temple's ground. the feud between the snake and the farmer was considered ended. that was what the abbot thought too.

a few months later, a sapling sprouted out from the farmer's tomb. at the same time another young tree also sprouted from the snake's tomb. both saplings continue to grow into 2 sturdy trees shading the well separating them.

one day, the abbot went to well to fetch some water. he noticed the one of the tree were sending its branches over to the other and trying to strangle it.

the abbot was dismayed at seeing this. "what an ill-fated karmic affinity both of you have! even in death, both of you still cannot get over the vengefulness and hatred."

he went back into his temple and brought out an axe and cut both the tree down. from the wood of one tree, he made a tic out of it and the other wood, he carved out a toc. henceforth, it became a tic and a toc of a woodstock which the abbot used for his daily chanting.

he hoped that by hitting on the tic n toc, the negative karma of the farmer and the snake would cancel each other out and finally resolved.

MORAL OF THE STORY:

LET GO ANGER...LET GO HATRED...AND HAPPINESS WILL FOLLOW YOU...sadhu, sadhu...