Chinese/English Philosophical Story series 2. Little monk sells stones/小和尚卖石头

One day, a young monk came and asked the Zen master ," Master, what is the greatest value of my life ?" Zen master said :" you go to the back garden to carry a big stone, go to the vegetable market to sell, if someone asks the price, you do not speak, only two fingers; if he bargain with you, you do not sell, back, master told you, what is the greatest value of your life ."

The next morning, the little monk hugged a big stone and went to the vegetable market to sell it. People came and went in the vegetable market, people were very curious, a housewife came over, asked :" how much stone sold ah ?" The monk put out two fingers, the housewife said :"2 yuan ?" The monk shook his head and the housewife said ," so 20 yuan? Okay, okay! I just took it back and pickled  Chinese cabbage ." The little monk heard ," my God, the worthless stone has been paid 20 yuan to buy! We have plenty on the mountain !"

So, the young monk did not sell, happy to see master :" Master, today there is a housewife willing to pay 20 yuan to buy my stone. Master, can you tell me now what is the greatest value of my life ?" Zen master said :" well, no hurry, you take this stone to the museum tomorrow morning, if someone asks for a price, you still put out two fingers; if he counter-offer, you do not sell, back, we will talk ."


The next morning, in the museum, a group of curious people watched and whispered ," what is the value of an ordinary stone in the museum ?" "Since this stone is in the museum, it must have its value, but we don't know it yet ." At this time, a man out of the crowd, to the young monk loudly said :" young monk, how much you sell this stone ah ?" The little monk did not make a sound, stretched out two fingers, the man said :"200 yuan ?" The young monk shook his head. The man said ,"2000 yuan is 2000 yuan. I'm going to carve a statue with it ." The little monk heard here, a step backwards, very surprised!

He still followed the master's instructions, took the stone back to the mountain, to see the master :" Master, today someone will pay 2000 yuan to buy me this stone, this time you always have to tell me, my life is the greatest value of it ?" The Zen master laughed and said ," You'll take the stone to the antique shop tomorrow and sell it. This time, the master must tell you what is the greatest value of your life ."


The next morning, the young monk came to the antique shop with the big stone again. There were still some people watching and some people talking about :" what stone is this? Where was it unearthed? Which dynasty is it? What is it for ?" Finally a man came to ask the price :" young monk, how much you sell this stone ah ?" The little monk remained silent and stretched out two fingers. "$20,000?" The young monk opened his eyes, opened his mouth, and shouted in surprise ," Ah? !" The guest thought his bid was too low, angry little monk, immediately corrected said :" No! No! No! I said ," I'm giving you $200,000!" "$200,000!" Hearing this, the little monk immediately picked up the stone and ran back to the mountain to see master ." Master, master, now we are developed. Today's donor bid 200000 yuan for our stone! Now you can tell me ," What is the greatest value of my life ?"


The Zen master touched the head of the young monk and said lovingly ," Children, the greatest value of your life is like this stone. If you put yourself on the vegetable market, you will only be worth 20 yuan; if you put yourself in a museum, you will be worth 2000 yuan; if you put yourself in an antique shop, you will be worth 200000 yuan! Different platforms, different positioning, the value of life will be very different !"


Does this story inspire you to think about your life? How will you position your life? What kind of life auction are you going to put yourself in? What kind of life stage do you want to find for yourself?


Not afraid that others look down on you, afraid that you look down on yourself. Who says you have no value? Unless you put yourself in the mud as a broken stone, no one can give any definition to your people. What path you choose will determine what life you have.


Disciple asked: master, you sometimes beat people and swear, sometimes polite to people, is there any mystery in this? Master said: treat the superior straight to the heart, can be scolded, with the real face to treat him; treat the middle people most metaphor him, to be measured, he can not stand scolding; treat the lower class to smile, hands together, he is very fragile, small heart, only with secular etiquette to him! What kind of grievance you can take, decide who you can be...

By means of Chinese philosophical stories which is translated into English, we have expanded our Chinese reading, and you can also read more Chinese reading materials through Beihai Chinese blog and to further improve your Chinese listening level. More Chinese course  HSK can be viewed on our website www.beihaimandarin.com.

Edited by Baoyang from Shanghai Beihaimandarin



      一天，一个小和尚跑过来，请教禅师：“师父，我人生最大的价值是什么呢？”禅师说：“你到后花园搬一块大石头，拿到菜市场上去卖，假如有人问价，你不要讲话，只伸出两个指头；假如他跟你还价，你不要卖，抱回来，师父告诉你，你人生最大的价值是什么。”


      第二天一大早，小和尚抱块大石头，到菜市场上去卖。菜市场上人来人往，人们很好奇，一家庭主妇走了过来，问：“石头多少钱卖呀？”和尚伸出了两个指头，主妇说：“2元钱？”和尚摇摇头，家庭主妇说：“那么是20元？好吧，好吧！我刚好拿回去压酸菜。”小和尚听到：“我的妈呀，一文不值的石头居然有人出20元钱来买！我们山上有的是呢！”
于是，小和尚没有卖，乐呵呵地去见师父：“师父，今天有一个家庭主妇愿意出20元钱，买我的石头。师父，您现在可以告诉我，我人生最大的价值是什么了吗？”禅师说：“嗯，不急，你明天一早，再把这块石头拿到博物馆去，假如有人问价，你依然伸出两个指头；如果他还价，你不要卖，再抱回来，我们再谈。”

     次日早上，在博物馆里，一群好奇的人围观，窃窃私语：“一块普通的石头，有什么价值摆在博物馆里呢？”“既然这块石头摆在博物馆里，那一定有它的价值，只是我们还不知道而已。”这时，有一个人从人群中窜出来，冲着小和尚大声说：“小和尚，你这块石头多少钱卖啊？”小和尚没出声，伸出两个指头，那个人说：“200元？”小和尚摇了摇头，那个人说：“2000元就2000元吧，刚好我要用它雕刻一尊神像。”小和尚听到这里，倒退了一步，非常惊讶！他依然遵照师傅的嘱托，把这块石头抱回了山上，去见师傅：“师傅，今天有人要出2000元买我这块石头，这回您总要告诉我，我人生最大的价值是什么了吧？”禅师哈哈大笑说：“你明天再把这块石头拿到古董店去卖，照例有人还价，你就把它抱回来。这一次，师傅一定告诉你，你人生最大的价值是什么。”

      第三天一早，小和尚又抱着那块大石头来到了古董店，依然有一些人围观，有一些人谈论：“这是什么石头啊？在哪儿出土的呢？是哪个朝代的呀？是做什么用的呢？”终于有一个人过来问价：“小和尚，你这块石头多少钱卖啊？”小和尚依然不声不语，伸出了两个指头。“20000元？”小和尚睁大眼睛，张大嘴巴，惊讶地大叫一声：“啊？！”那位客人以为自己出价太低，气坏了小和尚，立刻纠正说：“不！不！不！我说错了，我是要给你200000元！”“200000元！”小和尚听到这里，立刻抱起石头，飞奔回山上去见师父，气喘吁吁地说：“师父，师父，这下我们可发达了，今天的施主出价200000元买我们的石头！现在您总可以告诉我，我人生最大的价值是什么了吧？”禅师摸摸小和尚的头，慈爱地说：“孩子啊，你人生最大的价值就好像这块石头，如果你把自己摆在菜市场上，你就只值20元钱；如果你把自己摆在博物馆里，你就值2000元；如果你把自己摆在古董店里，你值200000元！平台不同，定位不同，人生的价值就会截然不同！”


      这个故事是否启发了你对自己人生的思考？你将如何定位自己的人生呢？你准备把自己摆在怎样的人生拍卖场去拍卖呢？你要为自己寻找一个怎样的人生舞台呢？


      不怕别人看不起你，就怕你自己看不起自己。谁说你没有价值？除非你把自己当作破石头放在烂泥中，没有人能够给你的人生下任何的定义。你选择怎样的道路，将决定你拥有怎样的人生。


       弟子问：师父您有时候打人骂人，有时又对人又彬彬有礼，这里面有什么玄机吗？师父说：对待上等人直指人心，可打可骂，以真面目待他；对待中等人最多隐喻他，要讲分寸，他受不了打骂；对待下等人要面带微笑，双手合十，他很脆弱、心眼小，只配用世俗的礼节对他！你受得了何种委屈，决定你能成为何种人……


      通过中英文对照的哲理故事，扩大了我们的中文阅读量，同时你也可以通过北海blog来阅读更多的中文素材、进一步提高你的中文听力水平。更多的学习课程可以到我们的官网上去浏览。