Parables of Rama
by Swami Rama Tirtha | 102,836 words
Stories in English used by Swami Rama to illustrate the highest teaching of Vedanta. The most difficult and intricate problems of philosophy and abstract truths, which may very well tax the brains of the most intellectual, are thus made not only simple and easy to understand but also brought home to us in a concrete form in such an interesting and ...
Story 193 - Thinking of dog & cat
Lord Buddha used to say, "As a man thinks, so he will become" Two persons once paid a visit to him. One of them said, "This companion of mine thinks and acts like a dog. Will he not be a dog in his next life?" The second man said in respect of the first, "My companion acts in every way like a cat, Will he not be a cat in his next life"? Lord Buddha said, "Well, you must get the result according to your own thoughts. But unfortunately you are taking it in a wrong way. He is calling you a cat and you are calling him a dog. Now mark. The man who sees his companion as dog, he is all the time thinking of dog. He will be a dog in his next life. Similarly, the man who is regarding his companion as a cat, is having an idea of cat in his miisd, all the time. He will therefore, be a cat in his next life.'9