This Buddhist tale teaches us that taking care of yourself is also very important to develop compassion for others.
In recent years there has been a lot of talk aboutimportance of taking care of yourself which should not be confused with exasperated individualism, certainly harmful, but which rather represents the ability to love oneself.
Which Buddhism also talks about with this story which is said to have been told by the Buddha in person, then passed down orally by his followers.
The tale tells that in a distant time two acrobats they performed every day on the street to earn a living. The teacher was a poor widower and the student named Medakathalika, a very wise girl.
Their performance involved several risks because the teacher had to balance a tall bamboo pole on his head while Medakathalika climbed on it.
To avoid falls and injuries during the performance, the two acrobats had to be very careful and one day the teacher, believing he was helping the student, advised her to watch him while he would do the same with her, so as to help each other to keep concentration and balance, and thus earning enough money to eat.
But little Medakathalika, that was a lot wise, he replied that it was better that each of them look at himself why taking care of yourself means taking care of both. That way they would surely avoid accidents and get enough money to eat, Meda added.
What the story of the two acrobats teaches
This story teaches that it is very important to nourish your mind and body taking care of themselves, even before others.
In fact, when we are comfortable with ourselves, not from a material but a spiritual point of view, and when we are aware of ourselves, it is easier to feel compassion for others and therefore treat them with greater love and kindness.
If, on the other hand, we are little aware of ourselves and we mistreat ourselves, for example by leading lives that do not resemble us and that make us sad and discouraged, it is more difficult to develop a compassionate and truly supportive attitude towards the surrounding world, with which we will tend to be more what else angry.
You might also like:
- The Buddhist tale that teaches us never to judge life and what happens to us
- Orthotherapy, because taking care of plants is a bit like taking care of yourself
- Do nothing when you don't know what to do. The Buddhist tale you need to read today
