-Anonymous (probably a dog wrote it. Dogs really don't like shouting)
A saint who was once visiting a river to take a bath found a group of
family members on the banks, shouting in anger at each other. He turned
to his disciples, smiled and asked.
'Why do people in anger shout at each other?'
The disciples thought for a while, then one of them said, 'Because we lose our calm, we shout.'
'But, why should you shout when the other person is just next to you?
You can as well tell him what you have to say in a soft manner,' asked
the saint.
The disciples gave some other answers but none satisfied the other disciples.
Finally the saint explained, 'When two people are angry at each other, their hearts distance a lot.
To cover that distance they must shout to be able to hear each other.
The angrier they are, the stronger they will have to shout to hear each
other to cover that great distance.
What happens when two people
fall in love? They don't shout at each other but talk softly, because
their hearts are very close. The distance between them is either
nonexistent or very small...'
The saint continued, 'When they
love each other even more, what happens? They do not speak, only whisper
and they get even closer to each other in their love. Finally they need
not even whisper, they only look at each other and that's all. That is
how close two people are when they love each other.'
He looked at his disciples and said, 'So when you argue do not let your hearts get distant, do not say words
that distance each other more, or else there will come a day when the
distance is so great that you will not find the path to return.'
