Why do I meditate?

Once upon a time a great Tao had two disciples – Lao Tse and Chuang Tzu. Both of them had spiritually reached all the heights as their master and very wise and experienced. But they still had a subtle competition between them, each one trying to prove to be better than the other in their master’s eyes. There are many symbolic stories on how the master tried to correct them and here is an interesting one to ruminate.

They lived on a hill in a remote forest. One day, the master and his disciples went to the village to beg for food. While returning, it rained heavily and there was a flash flood. A stream of fast moving water blocked their path. The three of them sat down to meditate. After 15 minutes, Lao Tse got up. He had meditated on the form of a lotus. So he crossed the stream walking over the water as if it were solid ground. Chuang Tzu got up after 30 minutes. He had meditated on the form of a dragon. Quickly he slid like a snake and emerged on the other shore with no effort. The Tao however got up only after two hours. He had a radiant smile on his face and was totally in bliss. He put two steps into the water, fell down and was carried away by the current.

-Story by Sri RajGopal M.,retold by AtmaAnanda