Perseverance story: Be mindful of distractions or…

There was once a secluded village which was located in a faraway valley. The villagers had everything in abundance and life was easygoing. But because the road to reach the village was long and difficult almost no one ever visited it. Many who had tried to reach the village with the hopes of living there in peace and abundance have turned back after seeing how difficult and dangerous the trip was. The inhabitants of the village were particularly happy with their monk who shared with them all the knowledge he had and provided spiritual and moral guidance. Since the monk was getting pretty old he wrote to his monastery where he came from. The letter was short, “I’m old, send one monk which I will teach everything I know. Send someone who is mindful of distractions!”

The head monk of the monastery called together all of his disciples and read the letter to them. Then he said, “I would like to send five of you to the village. Who will volunteer?” The monks looked at the head monk confused and one finally asked what was on everyone’s mind, “Why do you want to send five of us when the monk is only asking for one?” The head monk replied calmly with a smile, “You will have your answer soon. I will send five of you and even then I’m not certain that one of them will reach the village. The trip is long and there are many distractions the chosen five will encounter. Which of you believe they can make the trip?” The monks laughed as they believed they all possess the ability to be mindful of distractions and the physical stamina which was needed to make the trip. The young monks argued that the head monk was overreacting sending five of them. They tried to convince him that one monk would be enough but the head monk insisted even though other monks laughed at his idea. Finally, five volunteers stepped up and received final instructions from the head monk before leaving on their journey.

Not long since they have started their journey they came across a village where everyone was very nice to them. Soon the monks found out that the village priest had died and that the villagers needed a spiritual guide. They were willing to pay the monk which would stay handsomely, he would also get his own house and many other perks. It didn’t take much convincing on the part of the villagers when one of the monks suddenly decided to stay. The monk explained to his fellow monks that situations like this call upon them to provide spiritual guidance and that this is his calling. So the four monks went on and the fifth monk stayed at the village where he would live in a nice home filled with food and many riches a monk does not need.

The next day when they were on the outskirts of a neighboring kingdom it just so happened that the king was passing by them on his horse. Since the day was coming to an end the king decided to invite the monks to camp with him and his guard during the night and share his food. The king was happy to host the four monks and listened to their life stories. After some time when it was late in the night, the monks wanted to go to sleep. As they were leaving the king asked the youngest monk to stay for a bit as he wanted to discuss something with him. When the king and the young monk were finally alone the king had a suggestion for him, “After hearing what you have learned and how you think I believe that you would be the perfect husband for my daughter. You are young, smart, and willing to learn. That is something that I have been looking for in a groom for my only daughter. If you accept to take her hand in marriage, to take care of her and the kingdom, and to learn everything I want to teach you I promise you the kingdom will be yours to rule when I’m gone.” The young monk was overwhelmed with the offer and accepted it. In the morning he shared his decision with his fellow monks, said his thanks, and went on his way to the kingdom with the king.

The three remaining monks suddenly started to realize what the head monk was talking about. And so they decided to make a pact to watch out for each other and to be more mindful of distractions so as to not end up like their two brothers. As they continued their journey one day a storm broke out and they had no shelter. So they decided to continue their journey until they find a safe place to rest for the night. They were walking even past nightfall and soon got lost. Trying to stay calm they continued walking in heavy rain and pitch dark when suddenly they spotted a light. It was a house. In the house lived a woman who lost her husband some years ago and was left alone with no family. The woman welcomed the monks in, prepared a warm meal, and made beds for them where they could rest. One monk got sick and the woman insisted they wait with her until the ill monk gets well. She cooked for them and paid special attention to the ill monk. The other two monks helped her around the house as much as they could. When the ill monk finally got better he confessed to his two friends that he had fallen in love and wishes to stay with her. The two tried to convince him that she was just a distraction but the monk in love wouldn’t listen.

The two monks saw that it was useless to try to convince him so they continued their journey. The whole time the two discussed how easily the three companions were distracted from their goal. They continued their journey talking about their faith and their loyalty to the task at hand. Then one day when the two monks were passing a village they suddenly got surrounded by a crowd. The villagers were atheists and could not help themselves to challenge the two monks about their religion. It did not take long when one of the monks was passionately defending his religion and tried to win the crowd with his knowledge and wits. The villagers prided themselves on being knowledgeable and countered every argument the monk had. The discussion went on for a couple of days when finally one of the two monks decided that it was time to continue their journey. The monk who wanted to leave confronted the other monk but he did not want to hear anything about leaving until he would prove to the villagers that they need to change their minds and accept his religion.

After seeing that his friend will not leave the village the last monk decided to continue his journey. It took him only a couple of days but he finally reached the village he was supposed to. There he went straight to the old monk where he would start his training. The old monk inquired about the monk’s journey and the young monk told him everything that has happened. The old monk smiled, “I see the head monk understood my message. You see my dear friend, the path to this village is actually not that hard, but it is full of distraction. And what we as a village have managed to achieve is not that hard to achieve. As you have learned on your path getting here, the secret to achieving results is to be mindful of distractions. And with that my dear friend we have concluded your first lesson.”