November 27th, 2009 
Masami Sato A millionaire created through giving!
Given below is a mythological story from Japan about the beauty of giving to others and it tells us how we can receive the most perfect gifts when we’re giving and grateful of what we own.
Here is the story.
A long time ago, there lived a penniless young farmer. Nothing that he did turned out to be profitable. He was completely impoverished without any money, without anyone to help and nothing to eat. One night, totally at his wit’s end, he went to a shrine and sat near the altar and pleaded to Gods to show him what to do.
“I have always been truthful and assiduous, but all my industry never resulted in anything good for me. What did I do wrong?”
He fell asleep near the altar just after he put the question. When he woke up in the morning, he saw in front of him one of the Gods he had seen in his dream, with a bright golden light around him. The God’s voice reverberated in his mind.
“When you wake up today, treasure the very thing you have in your hand and keep giving it generously to others on your way,” the God whispered.
The farmer was brimming with questions when he woke up but he tried to shake off his sleep and clear his mind of the strange but clear dream he had. However, he saw a bit of a straw in his hand. It must have remained on his clothes while he worked in his fields.
He almost threw it away, but stopped short of doing it recollecting what God had said about it. He seated himself again and stared at the straw in his hand.
He sat for a long while wondering what that meant. He had no idea how a broken bit of a straw can be of any use to him. Suddenly he saw a wasp buzzing around. The wasp soon alighted on the tip of the straw. He caught hold of the wasp and bound it to the straw with a piece of string from his dress. Thus with a piece of straw with a wasp at one end, he proceeded.
He had gone a little way when he found a small boy and his mother coming towards him from the other end of the road. The boy was weeping. When he said hello to the boy, the child noticed the straw that the man had with a wasp at one end. He stopped his weeping and wanted to have the straw. The farmer was hesitant to give it but then he remembered that God had asked him to value what we owned and also give it to others profusely. So he gave the straw to the boy. The mother was relieved as the boy stopped crying when he got the straw and the wasp. In return she gave the man three tangerines.
The man continued on his way. After a while he started feeling hungry and wanted to eat one of the tangerines. But he stopped short of doing it and remembered that he had to gift things to others, not give it to himself.
The farmer was going over a steep hill and on the way he saw a merchant sitting under a tree. The man had a wooden box near him. The farmer wished the man. He appeared to be very tired. He saw the tangerines the farmer held and asked him if he would give it to him. The merchant told the farmer that he was very thirsty.
The farmer was also quite thirsty having walked for a long time during the heat of the day but he offered all the tangerines to the merchant. The merchant ate the three tangerines and regained his strength. He was very grateful for the kindness of the farmer and opened the wooden box next to him. There were rolls of hand dyed silk fabric. The merchant handed him one roll, thanked him and walked off.
The farmer proceeded again through the same route. He finally found a rivulet from which he drank water and felt restored. He felt more energetic and comfortable and went on.
He walked for some more time but did not come across anyone else. He felt that the silk might be that which would bring him something good. So he chose to go to a town in the vicinity and trade the fabric.
But just as he went around the corner, he saw in front of him a band of fighters. One of the fighters who looked liked the head of the band stood near a horse that was lying on the earth. The farmer heard the leader talking to his men.
“This horse would not last long. We just have to leave it. Just take care of it and catch up.” He jumped up on another horse and galloped off disappearing out of sight.
The remaining soldiers were left discussing what to do about it. They were reluctant to kill the animal but they did not have much of a choice. At last one of them took out a sword.
The farmer pleaded with them not to do that. He said he was ready to look after the animal. He said they can have the bolt of silk for letting him care for the horse. They agreed to the deal and left the place quickly.
Now the farmer stood there with a dying horse. He thought he might have made a mistake that after all he was not meant to be wealthy. Then he remembered something. There was the stream he’d just passed.
He immediately went back to the stream, took off his shirt and soaked it in the fresh water so he could give water to horse. He returned to the horse still lying there on the ground. The farmer squeezed the wet cloth over the horse’s mouth. Very soon the horse began to respond and regained its consciousness, so the farmer pulled it up with all his might.
Once the horse was up the farmer was able to lead it to the river. The animal drank to its satisfaction and there was also green grass nearby that it could feed on. With both that the horse became fully recharged.
So now the farmer owned the horse! The man and the animal traveled together, and the farmer had to run as the horse led the way. They traveled together for miles. Finally, as the sun was setting, the horse came to a halt in front of a big house. The animal pushed the farmer towards the gate when he finally drew level with it.
As the farmer approached the gate, the doors swung open and to his surprise, an old man appeared. The old man was rushing outside and was looking a little pale. He noticed the farmer and the horse standing by the gate.
The old man asked the farmer what it was that he needed. The farmer said that he wanted a place where he could sleep at night. The old man queried the farmer if he would mind looking after the house till his return as he had to leave for the nearby town on a pressing matter. He also said that it might take some time for him to return.
The old man looked as if he was in a hurry, so the farmer told him he can take his horse. The old man was very grateful about it and immediately left with the horse. As he left, he said something totally unexpected to the farmer.
“If I do not return within three years, this house is yours.”
As you probably guessed, the old man never returned.
The farmer lived in the large house for the rest of his life with a land full of crops surrounded by kind neighbors happily ever after. But he never forgot to always give away the things he had.
Thank you for going through this story. And what is the message that it contains?
Perhaps there is a secret to things. When we can turn the business of getting into the business of giving, our life gushes forward with greater plentitude. Still it might not be easy to incorporate into practical life this age old wisdom.
Here are some of the interesting distinctions we can find in this story :
* When we are ready to give what others need, they will consider it more valuable than while we are trying to ‘trade’ it (as basically we are always hopeful of getting something out of that transaction), as then they only consider the price we ask for and tend to pay less.
* When we are not attached to the things we have, we often find that we attract better opportunities as we can let go of existing ones.
* When we are down and out with the problems of life, instead of worrying about the negativities if we kept focus more on giving others and caring for them, life would surely bring glad tidings later.
* When we try to ‘cash in’ what we have built up, thinking that “this is the best it gets”, because we think we may lose out it if we do not cash in now, our life’s growth often ends there. What if instead, we continued to be giving generously no matter what we owned or how physically wealthy we were or were not.
Gifting is an inherent part of the lives of most winners. When we are ready to give first, we have better chances of living a life of perfection, ease and growth.
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