Here’s a delightful story I came across recently about a Zen disciple struggling with meditation. He approached his master, lamenting his inability to concentrate, his thoughts scattering like leaves in the wind. The wise master pointed towards children playing and suggested, “Join them, or at least watch. Don’t strain yourself to meditate.”
Taking this advice to heart, the disciple sat observing the children at play. Amidst their laughter and carefree antics, he found his heart swelling with joy, slipping almost magically into a state of deep reflection.
The master’s lesson was clear: Enlightenment doesn’t require solitude or withdrawal from society. “Immerse yourself in the everyday and let enlightenment find you,” he advised.
This reminds us that sometimes, in the quest for profound truths, the simplest joys can illuminate the path to inner peace. Just as we needn’t chase every fleeting thought, we needn’t chase enlightenment—it unfolds in its own, often unexpected, time.