A Sufi mystic Junaid was once taking a morning walk in the garden. All of a sudden, a man came up to him and asked, "How long will it take me to reach the capital of this kingdom?" Junaid looked at the man and without replying he continued walking. Thinking that Junaid didn't hear his question, the man followed him and said again, "Sir, I wish to go to the capital of this kingdom. Can you tell me how long will it take?"
Ignoring the question, Junaid again moved forward. After some distance, he looked back at the man who was still walking behind him to reach his destination. Junaid said, "It will take you ten hours to reach the capital of the kingdom."
The reply confused the person as to why he didn't answer before. He asked Junaid, "Sir, why didn't you say that before?"
Junaid replied, "How could I answer this before? Only after knowing your speed I could tell the time you will take to reach your destination."
It's true that without the master's grace a disciple cannot walk on the path of spirituality. But, along with this fact, another very important postulate holds true, that- our efforts also play an indispensable role. To collect the grace of the master, pouring on us like rain, the right effort of a disciple is needed, as he can never absorb the divine grace in his lap for spiritual progress.
In the context of the right effort of a disciple, 4-fold elements are mentioned in the sixth part of the Buddhist Eightfold Path.
The Effort To Avoid…
The first right effort as stated in the Buddhist Eightfold Path is- The Effort to Avoid. What to avoid? ...
What are the other three efforts Lord Buddha is talking about? To know this and furthermore, read the complete article in august edition of English Akhand Gyan monthly magazine.
