Little Boy by the Rice Field

During my trip to Northeastern Thailand in November 2005, a trip to visit my teacher's forest temple and to do some meditation practice, I saw a little boy sitting by the rice field one day. Just sitting there watching the sunset. My first thought was, "that boy must be so bored. I wish there were something for him to do. Maybe some toys. Video games would be good. Maybe he needs someone to take him to the movies." Then I thought, "but if he gets a video game system, he would want more games when he gets tired of the old ones. If he goes to the movie, he will want to see more and who will take him to the theaters in the future?"

I looked at the boy again. He was just sitting there, watching the sunset. He did not seem restless at all. Then I realized all that restlessness, all that stress came from me and not the boy. He was quite content. All those games and movies were far from his mind. No. They were never there in his mind. He had no need for them. Why would I introduce them to him and cause him to want more in the end? He was happy to just watch the sunset. He had peace. I should look at my own mind and see what needed to be cleared out.

Lesson learned.