世俗的诱惑(一则意义深刻的英文小故事)
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<P><FONT size=3>Once there was a simple spiritual seeker who wanted to have nothing to do with the materialistic cravings of the world. All he desired was to look inside his being and meditate on God. Due to his strong focus and sense of detachment, this seeker began to experience the most wonderful realms of peacefulness and understanding inside himself. He understood what it meant to be free and to live in complete harmony with nature. The townspeople pretty much left him alone to do his practices, but they could see that he was filled with light of God, and they were happy to have such a bright spiritual seeker in their midst.</FONT></P>
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<P><FONT size=3>This seeker lived about as simply as you can imagine---in a small hut made of branches that he had gathered himself. The only possession he had was a loincloth---a small piece of cloth that he used to cover himself. Every night, he would wash his cloth, and by morning, it would be dry from the warm, tropical breezes.</FONT></P>
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<P><FONT size=3>One day, the seeker awoke to find that a mouse had come into his hut and chewed a big hole in his loincloth. That afternoon, one of the townspeople came by to bring the seeker some rice and vegetables and saw his predicament. A loincloth with a hole in it is quite a problem! The kind man offered to bring the seeker a new cloth, along with a cat to keep those nibbling mice away. The seeker gratefully accepted the offer and continued to stay focused on his spiritual practices.</FONT></P><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT>
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<P><FONT size=3>The little cat was a pleasant addition to the scene, bringing its own cute friendliness into the seeker's life. The seeker grew quite fond of the cat and felt that he should provide some food for his little friend. A woman from town heard of the seeker's need and offered to give him one of her milking cows. Surely that would provide not only for the cat, but for the seeker as well.</FONT></P><FONT face="Times New Roman"></FONT>
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<P><FONT size=3>The seeker and his cat enjoyed the fresh milk, but he soon found that taking care of the cow and cat were eating into his meditation time. Just as he was wondering what to do, another kind fellow from town offered to provide a milkmaid to help take care of the cow and cat---and eventually the seeker. Soon, they had several children, and our seeker was looking for work at nearby factory.</FONT></P><FONT face=SimSun size=4></FONT>
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[[i] 本帖最后由 simple 于 2008-6-15 19:31 编辑 [/i]]