LaoShi’s scorpion

老师胡 (Lǎoshī (1) Hu) and 学生 (Xuéshēng (2)) were walking by the lake like every single morning after meditation.

学生 was pretty confused about the last lesson his master have talked about before meditation. He wasn’t event able to focused on his breathing because of the same. A thousand thoughts got to his mind when 老师胡 tried to explain about love and how it works as forgiveness by understanding others.

It was hard to accept the fact that ”… our nature is to love. There’s no one who haven’t loved, even the ones who seems not to love nobody, not even themselves, are the ones who once loved the most and exactly those who are the hardest to love are the ones who need it the most as well. It’s easy to love the ones we care about and the ones who already know how to love. And you 学生 need to understand that in order to give love to the ones who need it the most. Remember “to understand is to love“. There’s no need to change your nature, you just need to be cautious.” 老师胡’s words were repeating over and over again in his mind during meditation.

-But 老师，how can I understand others? What about the ones who only wanna see the world burn? – 学生’s questions sounded as a kid’s to 老师胡.

老师胡 stopped with parsimony and ataraxy contemplating him, the universe would send what he’d need to understand it in the correct moment. A deep breath came out slow from 老师’s mouth when a ripple on the lakeside caught his attention. He walked in silence towards the ripple and noticed a scorpion drowning in the water.

老师胡 pulled his sleeve and got his hand under the water pulling the scorpion out of it. As soon as the scorpion got out of the water it stung him making 老师 let the scorpion fall in the water again. 老师和 tilt his head for a moment and pulling his sleeve again he submerged his hand once more in the water. 学生’s eyes opened widely, he couldn’t believe what his master was doing. Once out of the water the scorpion stung 老师’s hand again.

-Stop it! – Almost yelled worried 学生. – Don’t you get that every time you try to take it out of the water it will sting you?

老师 without letting his sleeve go looked patiently at 学生 and replied calmly:

-If you had been born under the same circumstances of this scorpion your nature would it be to sting as well. My nature is to love, and remember 学生 part of love is to serve, to help. None of that is gonna change.

He stood up slowly letting his sleeve go and took a leaf one of the Quercus rubra (3) had left fall, he got back to the lakeside and took the scorpion out carefully with the leaf saving its life. Letting it, chary, close to the Quercus, 老师胡 turned back at 学生 and said with a gentle voice:

-Don’t let your nature change if someone hurts you. You just need to be cautious.

1. Lǎoshī, chinese word for “teacher”.
2. Xuéshēng chinese word for “student”.
3. A Red oak tree.