The Story of the Monk and the Cobra. The story goes that once a cobra was so impressed by the gentleness of a monk who lived in a forest hermitage nearby that he asked to become his disciple. The monk agreed and knowing that snakes can be quick-tempered thought it appropriate to teach him metta meditation. The cobra proved to be a good student, meditating regularly and becoming more good-natured as a result. One day while basking in the sun he noticed a woman nearby collecting sticks for the household fire. Rather than slither away or stand erect with his hood open so as to scare her, as had been his habit, he decided to remain where he was and radiate metta to the woman. She got closer and closer until she had collect enough sticks and then began looking around for something to tie them up with. Seeing the cobra and mistaking him for a piece of vine she picked him up by the tail, gave him a violent flick, wrapped him several times around the sticks, pulled him tight and then tied him in a knot. Then she put the bundle on her head and walked home. When she got there she untied the ‘vine’ and threw it away. Battered, bent and wincing with pain the poor cobra made his way back to the hermitage and told the monk what had happened. “You tell me to cultivate metta and this is what I get for it” he complained mournfully. The monk replied: “Just because you have metta doesn’t mean you can’t sometimes hiss.”
Posted on: Tue, 18 Jun 2013 05:47:39 +0000
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